Madness
by leafs nation
Summary: Their organization was created on a foundation of lies and deceit, yet they truly felt they were doing justice for humanity. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect their actions to lead to the consequences that followed, and it's had them questioning whether they were truly the good guys in this world anymore. Have they become just as bad as the walkers?
1. Nowhere is safe

_Clem's POV_

"Not today, you son of a bitch…" I whisper aloud; my breath flowing out and looking like a puff of smoke from the intense cold surrounding me. From my spot behind the tree, I've got all the cover I need to take down this asshole and his friend in one fell swoop – the ironic thing being that the very person they're out searching for is going to be the one to end their miserable, pathetic lives.

Cocking the slot back on my rifle, I breathe deeply, close one eye and shoot the first man right in the head; his buddy watching helplessly as the bullet rips through the man's skull with ferocity.

Before he can even utter a sound, a second bullet finds its way into the second man's forehead. All that's left are a couple of dead bodies and a now-abandoned truck – just what I need in order for this to work.

Sliding down the snowy hill and landing softly at the bottom, I walk towards the bodies and loot them over a little bit. These folks didn't have much, but some extra weapons and ammunition could always come in handy in a jam.

Feeling absolutely no remorse for these men, I pull the truck keys out of one guy's pocket before stopping as I notice the shiny, metallic object wrapped around his neck – now caked in his own blood.

No emotion dances upon my face as I hold the pendant in my hands. This bastard must've joined up pretty late, since I definitely don't remember inviting him into the fold back then. I'd only allow real survivors who could actually hold their own out in the field to enlist into the Fireflies.

I would never have allowed punks like these two to join up, leaving themselves so vulnerable and out in the open like that.

Although, now I suppose it doesn't really matter what I think anymore, does it? I'm on the run and there's no looking back now.

But I'll die before I let those assholes get to…

"Come on down," I holler up the hill urgently. "Hurry up! We don't have any time to spare!"

"Alright, alright! Hold your horses, bossy pants!" my little protégé rants, coming out of hiding as she too joins me down here. We're at some kind of abandoned cabin by the looks of it, not too dissimilar to the one that Luke and them were staying at.

But that was… nine years ago now, I'm pretty sure. A lot's changed since my days of trying to get back to Christa and head up north.

I'll be honest – I really didn't expect to survive this thing up to age twenty.

"Holy fuck, Clem…" she says in astonishment. "Did… did you really have to kill them? I mean, you still haven't told me what's going on…"

Making sure that their pendants aren't showing, I roll the corpses onto their fronts as I quickly nod my head in determination. "You just have to trust me," I say to her, having used that line a thousand times before. "Get in the truck, kiddo – forget about checking the cabin, we've gotta move."

Nodding silently, the spunky teenager sighs before climbing into the front seat and shutting the door behind her. She's never going to understand why we're doing this… hell, even I'm not so sure why. What's the point of all of this? Is my goal just to piss off our pursuers until we run out of places to run and hide? Rebelling against the entire Firefly organization may have seemed like a bold move at the time, but now it kind of seems like we're getting nowhere fast.

Pushing these negative thoughts aside, I leave the bodies to rot as I climb into the front seat and twist the keys; having to do so a couple of times until it finally starts.

"Buckle up," I tell her, motioning towards her seatbelt when she gives me a look. "I'm serious – safety first, bucko. That's rule one for everything."

Rolling her eyes, the fourteen year old does as I ask as she leans her elbow on the door. "You can be such a drama queen, you know that?"

"It's kept us alive so far, hasn't it?" I question with a slight smirk, but immediately frowning again as I look into the rear-view mirror. "Shit… they're onto us!"

Quickly turning around, I tell the girl to keep her head down as more of the Firefly troops fire pistol rounds at the back window. As the glass shatters and sprays all over the back seat, I angrily pull out my own gun and retaliate; managing to down one of them as they drag the woman to safety.

But god damn it… these ones I _know _we've trained – they're good shots, the lot of them, and they more than likely would've been able to kill the both of us if that's what they were ordered to do.

However, their orders from the upper command is to take the high-value targets _alive_. But they're not touching us – I won't let them.

_Put 'em all down_, Carver tells me, wanting me to kill every last one of these assholes. As much as I'd like to, there's no way that I'm willing to take that risk. So when the opening finally arises, and the dozen or so Fireflies are all taking cover behind boxes and such, I immediately grab the clutch and put it into the drive position.

"Hang on, Ellie!" I tell the redhead, slamming my foot on the gas pedal as we book it down the gravel road. Gunshots roar on our tail as I try to swerve and get out of the way.

Those two had better be in Alexandria when we get there… otherwise I'm not so sure what the fuck we're gonna do.

Feeling that I need to stay strong for quite possibly the most important kid in my life, I pat Ellie's knee in comfort.

Hopefully we can find some sort of refuge, and have this madness be over before it even begins.

TELLTALE GAMES &amp; LEAFS NATION PROUDLY PRESENT:

_THE WALKING DEAD: _

_MADNESS _

….

"Do you think they're gone?"

I slowly come back to reality as Ellie says something for the first time in the nearly two hours that we've been on the road. I'd look out the side mirror and say if they were still following us or not, but both mirrors have been shot at and cracked; giving me no help as I shrug my shoulders.

"I highly doubt that we're out of the woods yet," I admit truthfully, not seeing a point in lying to the girl. I've told enough lies in my lifetime already, and it's partly why we're on the run right now as it is. "But I haven't seen any troops in a while now, so… take that for what you want, I guess."

"Well, that's good at least!" Ellie chirps before diving into her backpack and pulling out another copy of her favourite comic book, _Savage Starlight. _I don't know why she never liked to read the Batman comics that I once did beforehand, but to each their own. I'm just glad to see that she's enjoying herself for a change. "Tch… this better not be another fucking cliffhanger…"

"We all know how much you hate those," I smirk, ruffling her hair a little bit as I turn the windshield wipers on. Snow in Virginia can be a hassle, that's for sure.

As I listen to Ellie flip through the pages of her comic book, giving her at least _some _relief to the horrors that we've gone through together, I can't help but think of where we're gonna go from here. How much longer are we going to have to be on the move for? Forever? Am I really willing to do this shit until I keel over and die; outmaneuvering the very same people that I swore to lead with my life?

Yes, yes I am.

There are several things that I've learned from my time with the Fireflies, but there were three things that really stuck out to me in particular. One is that I wasn't ready for the leadership role – that much is more than clear to me now. How could I have been ready at twelve years old? I had the entire weight of the world resting on my shoulders… and I totally blew it.

But I would blow that chance again, and again, and over again… Nothing could even try to convince me otherwise. Taking Ellie was the only clear, possible choice that I've made in a very long time.

Second off, you can't be afraid to cheat, murder and steal in order to get ahead out here. I learned that lesson pretty early on, and I'm almost completely positive that if I had just stuck to my old ways of treating everyone nicely and being my naïve, eight year old self, I wouldn't be alive today. Hell, the Fireflies were practically _built _on a foundation of lies and deceit, not to mention everything that happened afterwards! I've got very little regrets for what I did, although some secrets I'm going to have to carry with me to the grave.

I can't help but feel bad that I've forced myself to keep secrets from even those closest to me, as I glance over at Ellie with slight concern.

Thirdly… family is the absolute most important thing that you could possibly have. They don't have to be related to you in order to be considered a part of your family – it's just the care, love and trust that you put with them that really counts.

That, and I'd be willing to lay down my life for my family, although I've got to say that that list is pretty small for the people I'd be willing to die for.

Ignoring a walker that stumbles its way towards us, I keep driving without looking back.

"So, this Alexandria place…" Ellie trails off, setting her book down for a little while on her lap. "You said that it's safe, right?"

"That's what the reports said before we left," I tell her, not really giving the teen much to go on. I've been withholding quite a lot of info from her recently. When she looks over at me for a better explanation, I sigh and try to elaborate a little bit more. "It was a safe zone back in the day – you know, one of those communities people built when they wanted to settle down."

"Oh, you mean like… Tommy's place?"

Nodding my head, I swipe a few loose strands of hair back under the beak of my cap and try keeping my eyes focused on the road. This hat's been through hell, but I can't force myself to just throw it away. That'd be like removing a piece of my soul.

"Yeah – I'd bet that it's a lot like Jackson," I agree, despite not having actually seen Tommy's community for myself. The guy always did have a knack for helping people in times of crisis, and he left a big, gaping hole in the ranks when he decided to go it off by himself. "According to some folks, Alexandria got sacked and ruined once by a band of marauders, but apparently the place got rebuilt a couple of years later. I've never actually been here before."

Drumming her fingers along her jeans, Ellie frowns pensively for a moment; capturing my attention as I ask her what the problem is.

"Nothing, nothing," she insists, but it's unfortunate for her that I'm so stubborn.

"Keeping everything to yourself isn't a good idea, Ellie," I advise, knowing exactly how that feels like after having done it myself for so long. As I turn right and start slowing the vehicle down before we get to the fallen tree in the road, I switch off the engine and turn towards the special girl. "Now tell me – what's up?"

Absentmindedly fiddling with her sleeve as she glances down at the scar, Ellie grabs her backpack and sighs. "It's just that…" she cuts herself off as she turns to face towards me, "are you sure that they're gonna be there?"

"They _will_."

"How do you know?"

"Because I just do!" I snap, not meaning to get angry at her but the overwhelming feelings of anxiety and paranoia recently have gotten me pretty agitated. "They're gonna be there, Ellie. I know they will.

Not looking me in the eyes, Ellie simply mumbles "okay" before opening her door and stepping out into the cold. Closing my eyes for only a few seconds, I struggle to compose myself as I set the keys on top of the dashboard and grab my gear. Just because we can't use this thing anymore doesn't mean that somebody else can't.

As I shut the door behind me and traverse through the snow, leaving little tracks behind me as Ellie follows my lead over the fallen logs, I keep having to reassure myself that things will be like I keep saying they'll be. Everything's gonna go velvety smooth – we're gonna get to Alexandria, hold out in the community, wait this thing out until the Fireflies give up their search for us, and then go back to our lives.

Jane and Lilly are gonna be waiting at the gates for us with open arms – just like they told me they would. I have to believe that they're safe and secure.

They just have to be… After all of this shit, they just have to be…

…..

"Looks like we've caught a lucky break!" I comment, looking up at the sky with slight relief. "The storm's starting to clear up! You see that, Ellie? Maybe our luck's gonna turn around after all."

As the last of the snowflakes fall to their earthly demise, I shield my eyes to look forward as the sunlight harshly bounces off the winter wonderland surrounding us. Even though it might be a little bit blinding out here, it still beats the crap out of travelling in a blizzard.

"Alexandria can't be far now," I tell her with a crazed determination in my head. God, I feel like Kenny trying to get up to Wellington… "Keep up, kiddo – it's only a matter of time."

"Don't you think we should stop for a break?" Ellie asks hopefully, but pouting slightly as I shake my head. "Oh come on, Clem! We've been at this for two days straight!"

Stopping in my tracks, I turn around to find that Ellie's leaning up against a tree in exhaustion, wanting nothing more than to sit down somewhere and grab some much needed rest. A part of me kind of agrees with her and longs for a short nap, but that's overshadowed by my burning desire to find this place. Alexandria could be our salvation.

"We're too out in the open," I explain, groaning and walking over to the girl as she sits in the snow. She complains in annoyance when I grab onto her arm and force her to her feet. "I don't want to hear it, Ellie! We've come too far just to stop now – this place is nearby, I know it is!"

"Just stop with the bullshit, Clementine! I've had it up to here!" Ellie emphasizes, causing me to step back as she glares fiercely at me. "Now what the hell aren't you telling me, huh?! Why are we running from the Fireflies when they were only trying to help people?! What are you so fucking afraid of?!"

"_Everything!_" I exclaim darkly, clenching my fists as I try to get my point across. If I have to get loud and direct in order for her to understand my urgency as of late, then so fucking be it. "Let me tell you something, Ellie – right now, we are _not _safe. Not now, not ever. Everywhere we fucking go, our lives are gonna be risked because that's just the world we live in. I'm trying to get us here so that we might have a _sliver _of a chance to survive out here! That's it!"

Shaking her head in mild disgust, Ellie narrows her eyes as she slings her bag over her shoulder. "You're so full of it today," she remarks, taking me aback as she brushes off ahead down the pathway.

Not before I catch up to her, though.

"Excuse me?!" I demand, feeling the voices coming back in full force. As I breathe in and out like I was told to beforehand, Ellie glances over at me and questions me again.

"You've been dodging my questions for over a god damn year, Clementine!" she barks, not easing up even as I struggle to control my inner demons. "Quit feeding me all of these bullshit lines about how _we need to keep finding somewhere safe! _Safe from what?! Walkers, people, what the hell is it?! Why are you keeping this shit from me?!"

"_BECAUSE IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH YOU!_" I erupt in a blinding fit of anger, silencing the teen as she stares back at me in shock. As I start trying to catch my breath while also fighting off the urge to pull out my gun and try to shoot the various images surrounding me, Ellie automatically looks down at her sleeve and rolls it up for a moment.

"…is it because of…?" she cuts the question off, getting her answer as I walk ahead and try to control myself.

I've been keeping secrets from Ellie for practically the entire time that I've known her, and most of those have been so big that I'm surprised it hasn't completely tarnished our friendship yet. I've made so many mistakes; so many errors in judgement over the years, and slowly but surely they have each come back to bite me right in the ass.

Some of those mistakes have cost lives; lives that cannot be replaced. Despite all the good that we did together – Lilly, Jane and I – the mistakes are going to be what defines me for people. They won't see me as a person who tried to bring people together, but as a monster that has ruined practically everything. My legacy will be in total ruins, and it all boils down to the biggest mistake of them all.

It's also the one reason that I'm now being hunted across most of the United States.

Travelling the rest of the way in silence, I can't even fake a smile as we gaze upon the big gates and fences of Alexandria – considered by many to be the crowning jewel of Virginia nowadays. This place is a fortress compared to others of its kind, and its reputation as being a fair, cooperative commonwealth has drawn many people to come out looking for it in the past.

As Ellie and I trudge towards the front gates, I make absolutely sure that I'm in front with a gun out in case things go sideways. In times like these, nothing is more important than being able to defend yourself – especially when people can be just as bad and nasty as the walkers, if not even worse.

Banging on the big plate metal near the front gate, I look back towards Ellie and nod as a bigger-looking man comes to address us. We're gonna be fine, I'm sure of it. We're gonna come out of this alive.

"So… I reckon that y'all are the folks we've been searching for," he says calmly, causing me to instinctively raise my weapon up in defense. "Nuh-uh, little lady. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask you to put down your weapon and come quietly. We wouldn't want to hurt that pretty little face of yours, after all."

"Let us go and I won't put this bullet right down your esophagus," I threaten, starting to back up as I try hollering back to Ellie. "Kiddo, you need to run, got that? No excuses, just go!"

"I'm not leaving you alone out here!"

"Just do what I ask, for – "

Pausing, I grind my teeth together in anger as two dozen armed men and women suddenly come out to meet the two of us at the gate; forming a circle around us with their weapons trained and ready to fire. A bunch of these people are Firefly troops, as I recognize a few people that I used to be in contact with.

All the while, however, I'm absolutely seething with rage. How could they possibly have gotten here before us?!

"No…" I mumble to myself, turning my head this way and that as I try to search for the two familiar faces. "Where… where are you two? Jane… Lilly… you have to be here…"

Stepping forward, the man who was at the gate beforehand aims a shotgun near my head as he tells me once again to surrender.

"You won't kill me…" I tell him, knowing fully well that he was told not to pull the trigger by whomever must've bought him off. What was the promised price, I wonder? "And you won't kill _her_."

As he motions for a handful of other people to come towards us, I reluctantly place my pistol on the ground and hold my hands up in surrender. Ellie wants to put up a fight, I'm almost certain of it, but she thankfully follows my lead and does the same. We're outnumbered, outgunned and completely surrounded – there's no way that we'd be making it out of this alive.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" I bark, feeling the impact of a man's fist as he clocks me in the side of the head. When Ellie screams out my name in worry, I simply spit out the blood in my mouth onto the snow and look towards her. "Don't give into them, you hear me?! No matter what these fuckers do to me, you stay strong! Don't let them win!"

A kick to the face has me seeing stars as my hat is knocked off, but thankfully I grab it before being roughly pulled up and dragged into the community of Alexandria; trying to turn my head and see if Ellie is still in one piece.

The one question ringing through my mind as I'm brought into a holding cell and tossed to the dusty floor is this:

How in the ever-loving fuck did we get here?

_AN: Welcome back, party people! Yes, this is the third instalment of the Lilly, Clem and Jane saga, but I'm just going to let you know how things are going to run this time around._

_This story's going to have multiple time-skips in it; meaning that Clem won't always be the same age throughout the story. I'm going to devote quite a dew chapters to the different segments, however, so I'm not going to try and rush this or anything._

_Second – this is most likely going to be my most ambitious project yet. Jane, Lilly and Clem have become my absolute faves to write for, and this story's gonna go into quite a lot of detail surrounding their adventures in the apocalypse. _

_And lastly, I know that this chapter may have been a bit confusing because it took place when Clem was twenty years old, but hopefully everything will make more sense in the future. Next chapter I'm going to go back to where we left off in You're the Salvation, so hopefully this goes well. Anyways, please drop a review and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!_

_Leafs Nation _


	2. Immunity

_**Clem's Age: 12 **_

It's been a couple hours, hasn't it? At least a few hours, it must've been that by now. It's not as if I'm keeping track of the time anymore. I mean, what's the point, right? It's not as if I need to wake up for school or try and not be late for work like my parents used to do. That stuff is over – the reality is that time is pretty much irrelevant nowadays. It has no meaning.

I believe this because it really doesn't matter how long I have to sit here with Ellie and Riley; slowly wasting away on either side of me as their tiny bodies move up and down every now and again with each sleeping breath they take. Despite that big scare that they had with that run-in with a walker, they're resting peacefully. They can dream without a care in the world, and they won't have to worry about a damn thing when they wake up.

Because the next time that they awaken, they won't even be human anymore.

Watching as small streams of blood trail down Ellie's arm and Riley's hand, I force myself not to allow any more tears to flow. There are already enough liquid stains on my cheeks as it is from getting so upset about all of this, and I really don't plan on adding anymore to that list. Stroking Riley's head softly, my gut wrenches around when she doesn't even budge an inch.

You see, _this right here _is why I shouldn't willingly get close to too many people. All I ever end up with is heartache and pain – that sounds super depressing, but it's unfortunately true. How many friendships and families have been ripped apart ever since the walkers started showing up? How many kids are gone now because they were never prepared or taught how to survive out here when their parents aren't around? How many times have Jane, Lilly and I seen things fall apart and crumble to tatters because people haven't been able to adapt?

I've spent many a night cursing the world – blaming it for all of my problems, hating its guts for allowing such shitty things to happen to the sweetest and most caring of people, and for changing me into a much colder, more isolated version of myself than I ever was before. The world was cruel, and I, a small and insignificant part of it, had to endure countless setbacks and losses thrown my way. I had the _woe is me _mentality going for over a year.

And what good did any of that accomplish? I spend an entire year of silence with Christa, slowly losing my mind as that overwhelming sense of guilt just seeps into my bones. It took me quite a while to overcome that need to distance myself from people; to finally connect with people and realize that I needed to live and hurl myself over these obstacles.

Glancing down at these two kids, however, makes me feel like I'm back at square one.

"God damn it…" I whisper; making sure that Ellie's switchblade is nearby for… when the time comes. "I… I'm so sorry, guys…"

My heart shatters into a billion pieces when Riley very slowly opens her eyes again – not as the brave kid I knew, but as something else entirely. Her skin's gotten pale, her eyes have gone a dull shade of grey, and her mouth is slowly dripping out blood as she finally turns to look up at me.

Shuddering and closing my eyes for just a brief moment, I struggle to find the courage to do what is necessary. This happens literally every single time - I always hesitate when it comes to putting my friends down. Goodbye is always the hardest thing to say.

Re-opening my eyes, I keep my grip on Riley firm, but I hold her neck in a chokehold as Ellie still sleeps soundly on the other side of me; blissfully unaware of everything going on.

"_If it comes to it – if Luke or Sarah or anyone else needs to be put down," _I remember Jane telling me explicitly, _"you've gotta be ready for it. No hesitation. You know that, right?"_

Yeah, Jane, I know it. I just can't fucking stand doing it all the time…

"…Goodbye, kiddo…" I whisper to her one last time; using every ounce of my strength to hold Riley in place and prevent her from biting me as well.

Choosing not to look at her right in the eyes, I grunt as I lift Ellie's switchblade up… and bring it back down.

It's done – Riley, I hope, is now at peace.

Gasping for air, I cringe as I let the body fall to the ground with a _thump_. It's over now – I'm halfway finished, and now I have to wait for the other hardest responsibility that I've had to do today. I owe it to these kids to see this through fully.

As Ellie keeps on breathing and subconsciously leans up against me, I glance down at the bloody knife with dismay. Why not just get it over with right now? I mean, why wait and draw this out even longer than it needs to be? The exact thing that happened to Riley is going to happen to the other kid too – I've seen it a million times before. No matter what, there's no surviving a bite wound, and cutting the arm off of a six year old child is just a death sentence.

A part of me is very tempted to just get this over with right now… but something compels me not to. It's hard for me to explain, but seeing Ellie all comfortable and innocent like this…

"I can't…" I murmur, dropping the knife as Ellie continues to breathe. Riley turned, and so putting her down was a necessity. But… why can't I wait for just a little bit longer? She can just have one final nap beforehand, and not realize what's going on until it's finally over! Can't somebody just let me have this one last moment of peace with the kid?

Please?

….

…Something's not right here.

Why… why is she still sitting there? Why is she still sleeping? Why has nothing happened to this kid yet?

How is it that Riley turned over two hours ago, and yet Ellie's barely even batted an eyelid?

As the night rolls on, and I wait up throughout all of it for even a _sign _of the kid turning, I grow more worried. This isn't normal – even Duck didn't take this long, and he held out for quite a long time beforehand.

Growing increasingly confused and a little bit scared, I carefully pick the child up in my arms; holding her legs in one arm as her back rests in the other.

"What's going on with you?" I whisper, gazing at the kid's face as I start to walk forward. When I gently place her down a little ways away from the gruesome sight surrounding her, she instinctively reaches out for me in her sleep; grasping at the air until her arms slowly fall back down to her sides.

Coming back over to Riley, I shudder as I gaze at the mess that I've left behind. I can't leave the poor kid like this… she deserves much better than what she's been given.

I need to give her a proper send-off. If nothing else, then a small funeral type of thing would be the least that I could do. I owe her that much.

Taking one look back at the still-sleeping form of Ellie, I gather up Riley in my arms and open the door leading outside. The night air chills my bones as I step out, but the wind's nullified by my determination to see this through. Making sure to leave a rock in the doorway so that I'm not locked out, I take a deep breath before walking out into the street.

The massive hole that Bo and them created is still there; constantly reminding me of that close encounter I had in the subway tunnels. That must've been Near-Death Experience number four thousand, meaning that I'm hardly even fazed by how much danger I'm constantly in anymore. That's just the way that the world works these days.

Ignoring the dozens of walker growls coming from the trapped walkers in the subway as well as those from the other side of the hole, I gently lay Riley down as I take a few moments of silence. I wish that I had been able to do this with everyone that I had lost, but what can you do?

Shutting the poor kid's eyelids for the final time, I let her fall into the subway tunnels before standing up and turning back towards the space center with my hands in my pockets. I can't bury the kid in concrete and rubble, so this will have to do. It's been tough, but I'm sure that I'll be able to pull through this. I've done it before, and I'll do it again.

Creaking the door back open, I kick the rock out of the way and shut the door firmly behind me. We don't want to repeat the same mistakes that got two of my friends killed all over again.

Or so I thought it was _two_…

Widening my eyes in disbelief, I struggle to hold myself up against the pillar as Ellie's eyes start to flutter open. On instinct, I pull out my pistol and hold it out at my side – prepared for the worst – but there's really no need. Her skin is exactly the same, her eyes haven't changed colour, and the child's still breathing like a regular human being. Everything seems… abnormally normal about her.

"H-how is this… possible…?" I ask aloud, dropping the gun to the ground as I fall to my knees. I don't understand – she looks perfectly fine! No coughing, no blood, nothing! This is the only time that I've ever seen anybody get bitten and _not _gotten turned into one of those things.

Checking her arm to make sure that it actually in fact _was _a bite, I tilt her chin up and check for any signs of trouble. When I find none, and Ellie stubbornly bats my hand away from her face, I gently place my hand on her shoulder in support.

A bite wound with no after-effects… this is impossible. I may be a little bit crazy with everything that's been going on, but not on this. Ellie… she's just a little kid! A six year old girl who still has a whole future ahead of her!

She can't be able to withstand this, right? I mean, there's no possible way that she could be –

Holy shit.

"…ugh… Cl-Clem?" Ellie asks groggily, staring up at me curiously. "Why are you staring at me like that? Stop it!"

"Ellie… god damn, Ellie…" I can't help but keep repeating her name over and over again; still feeling my head spin as I realize what this all means. This little girl can't turn into a walker – she's immune to whatever their bite does to you.

That means that I hold the key to the cure in my hands. We could all be saved, and just be done with all of this walker business once and for all.

…but fuck that. No – I know exactly what that implies, and there's absolutely no way in hell that I'm handing her over to James. I can't trust him, and I can't trust Bo to keep either of their words. They'll cut her head open like a jack-o-lantern, stick needles in her brain and dump her body into a pile with the dozens (if not more) that they've already worked on.

_I won't let them take you away from me, _I think bitterly, sitting down silently beside the kid as I stare at my lap. I suddenly feel more responsible for this kid than I ever have before.

"I umm… I need you to know a few things…" I stutter, finding it increasingly difficult to get any English across my lips. "Listen… you're a special kid, you know that? There's really nobody else like you around here… or anywhere."

"Huh?" she asks, totally lost as to why I'm telling her this. "Like… like a superhero?"

"Ha ha, yeah… like a superhero," I nod, trying hard to keep my composure. "But… you know that bite on your arm? Well… we're just gonna need to keep it a secret, okay? Keep it covered up so that the bad guys can't get to it…"

"But why?"

"You just have to trust me on this, okay?" I encourage, rubbing the kid's shoulder as I pull off a small fake smile to ease her along. Lifting off my poncho, I slide it over her head with affection. A little chill isn't gonna bother me – besides, I think that it's time for a new one anyways. "Have I ever let you down before?"

Scratching at the itchy fabric she's been put in, Ellie lifts her arms up as the sleeves go well past her hands. It might not fit just yet, but she's gonna grow into it eventually, and it's a hell of a lot better than having her in just a t-shirt all the time.

"No…" she answers my original question, but still looking around the room for something… or rather, _someone_. "Where's Riley? Is she okay? That big monster was super scary!"

I can't say a damn word to comfort the kid, and my heart nearly snaps in two as her bottom lip starts to quiver. "R-Riley…? Where…?" she cries, starting to sob loudly as I whisper the truth in her ear. "NO! YOU'RE LYING TO ME! No! No… RILEY!"

Banging on my chest in protest, Ellie screams as I firmly wrap my arms around her waist; holding the girl close so that she can't break away. When she realizes that I have absolutely no intention of letting go, Ellie collapses against me as her tears start staining my shirt.

"No matter what happens," I whisper as I hold this diamond in the rough against me, "I'll be there for you, Ellie. That's… that's a promise. I'll keep you safe…"

Glancing over at my own visual image of Lee just sitting nearby, I firmly believe that I'll be able to hold to that promise this time around. I won't screw it up, and I'll make sure that she grows up safe and secure.

Even if that means that I have to lie to her about her immunity.

…

_**Lilly's POV**_

"Anyone seen Clem or the kids?"

Getting two head shakes from Bo and Tommy, and not getting any kind of response from James, I furrow my brow in slight concern. Clem can handle herself well enough, but Ellie and Riley? I'm pretty sure that the two of them put together could barely hold a baseball bat – the two of them off by themselves would just be suicide.

You know, so far this whole _Firefly _business isn't quite what I had expected it to be. We haven't really started anything yet, even though Bo's insisting that he's got something coming up in the works for us. But right now it looks like we're just the same any other ragtag group out here trying to survive.

Confused as to where they could've scampered off to, I tiredly rub my eyes before taking my leave. Last night was… _sigh_ – bliss, pure bliss. Jane said yes to my proposal, the three musketeers were back together again, and I rested more easily than I have in years. I almost felt guilty about how wonderful I felt, what with everything else going to shit around us.

Just _almost_, though – nothing more.

"Jesus fucking Christ… does nobody even _care _where they went?" I ask aloud; looking as the three of them sit there going over fucking papers and shit. "How is any of this gonna matter if we can't find them?! Hellooooooooo? Earth to people?!"

"Would you just calm the fuck down already?! If you're so worried, then quit standing there and bitching about it! Go find them yourself!" James snaps, getting on my nerves as he glares at me from behind a pair of slightly-busted glasses. I have half a mind to knock his head through the nearest window and end his miserable existence.

But then again, I suppose I already did that to his girlfriend now, didn't I? It's a good thing that I haven't told him that part…

"I think she might have said somethin' 'bout going to the basement," Tommy remarks, scratching his chin as he nods. "Yeah, that was it. Said something 'bout looking for the two little rascals she was with."

"You don't need to look anywhere."

As all of us turn around, my expression of relief is cut short as I see Clementine standing in the doorway; looking like her soul was just sucked out by a vacuum. When I see Jane out in the hall bending down to talk to a distraught Ellie, I realize what's truly going on.

"Oh shit…" Bo says, spinning in his chair as he looks over to Clementine questioningly. "What happened down there? Don't tell me she…"

"…they were in the basement, just playing around…" she says, barely audible enough for me to hear as she shakes her head. "The… door was open, and… and… some guy walked in with a gun. He shot Riley and took off somewhere… She didn't make it…"

Thinking that she's going to need at least a little bit of time to grieve, I go to walk towards the exit and talk to Jane, but Clementine stops me and shakes her head.

Walking over to the table, she mentions for Bo to fill her in on the details that we've got so far. The rest of us glance over at Clem as if she's just grown a third head.

"Clem…" I remark, looking back out for only a second as Jane tries her best to comfort Ellie out in the hallway. "Are you sure you wanna do this right now? I mean, you don't have to go through this alone."

"I'm fine," she stiffens, meaning that she wants me to drop the subject entirely. "We need to get things rolling… let Ellie have her space, but… I can't afford to quit now. We need to get started."

Frowning deeply, I fold my arms across my chest as she sorts through various maps and plans for the surrounding area. "Jesus, Clem! Are you serious?!" I remark, not understanding why she's acting this way. "Riley just fucking died! And you're shrugging it off like it's no big deal! Just let us help you – that's what we're here for!"

"I SAID I'M FINE, LILLY!" she snaps in anger, grinding her teeth together as her rage slowly starts to simmer down. This is definitely not like her to behave like this. "People die, alright?! In case none of you have noticed that yet, well, there it is! Yeah, I'm pissed off and sad about it, but we've got work to do! Riley's gone, and there's nothing any of us can do about it! Or should I bring up AJ again?"

Feeling slightly guilty about that conversation back at Howe's, and hating the fact that a whole whack of curious stares are now being thrown my way, I huff in frustration as I shake my head and head for the exit. "I need some air," I tell them as an excuse, not used to having Clementine blow up at me like that.

"She'll come back…" I hear Clem tell the rest of the group. "Okay… what's our first move gonna be?"

Slamming the door behind me, I resist the urge to bellow down the hallway; resorting to kicking over a trash bin instead.

Something changed in that kid, and I'm not so sure that it's been for the better. Why do I feel this way?

Well… it's because I think that she's turning into _me_.

That single thought might scare me more than the walkers do.

_AN: Alright, hopefully that's clearing a few things up so far. Clem's changing already, and she hasn't even STARTED the leadership thing yet – we'll explore that a bit more as we go forward. _

_Also – I'm going to need some OCs, if you please :) I'm not going to be able to go into too much backstory with them, but *spoiler alert* they're going to be in a group not too far from where these guys are stationed. I'm going to try and make it so that they spice up the story a little bit, because I'm definitely gonna need it lol. _

_So, if you guys would like, please send me a small description of an OC you want to have in this little group! All I need is a name, gender, a small description of their personality, and that's it. Pretty please with a cherry on top? _

_That'd be awesome, guys – thanks!_


	3. New friends or new enemies?

_AN: Well, I was certainly not expecting the amount of feedback that I got last chapter! Thank you guys so much – in total, you guys gave me about eleven OCs (including some through private messaging). _

_So, because there are so many characters here, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm not going to introduce all of the characters at the same time, because I want to develop your guys' OCs and it wouldn't be fair to just randomly throw them all together. So I'm going to pick a handful at random, focus on them for a little bit, and then move onto the next batch – geez, it sounds like I'm baking cookies or something._

_Oh and for the question about Joel… I dunno yet. We'll see ;) _

_And thank you for finally working, Fanfiction! Glad to see that whatever problems there were just got fixed – I hope._

_**Jane's POV**_

"Can you take her?" I ask, holding out the sleeping child in my arms as Lilly watches me against the wall. "Please?"

"Nope – it's a lot more fun watching you struggle for a change!"

"Fuck off, Lilly! Seriously!" I exclaim as I insist that she take Ellie away from me. When she just shakes her head, I let out and audible groan of annoyance. "Come on, Lil! You know I'm complete shit with kids! Just take her off my hands for a little while – I'll make it worth your while somehow, I promise!"

Scoffing, Lilly rolls her eyes as she folds her arms across her chest. She's _seriously _pissing me off right now… "I'm not so sure you've got anything that'd be worth the trade-off here," she says coyly with a smirk. "Besides, you're doing a good enough job on your own, and what makes you think that I'd be able to do any better?"

Sighing in defeat, I bounce the child on my hip until I get Ellie into a more comfortable position. It was actually kind of scary watching her rush up to me like that; tears burning her eyes and looking as if she just lost her very best friend – which she _actually did_, so that explains quite a lot.

I'm actually kind of surprised though that she came to me first. It could've just been because I was the first person (besides Clem, of course) that she saw, but you'd have thought that she would've gone straight to James or Bo – somebody that she actually knows a little bit.

…shut up. I'm not going soft, so don't start calling me that, alright? It's bad enough getting that shit from Mrs. Caul over here.

Damn… _Mrs. Caul_… That's still going to take a while to kick in.

"Out like a light, huh?" Lilly comments as she gestures to the red-headed bundle in my arms.

Nodding as she squirms around a little bit, I watch as Lilly finally walks over to me and takes Ellie out of my hands. Thank god, too – I'm pretty sure I would've ended up dropping the kid on the floor at that rate.

"Did she tell you anything? Anything about…?"

"I couldn't get a whole lot out of her – too frazzled," I admit, curious as to why Clementine gave her the poncho she had been wearing this whole time. It's not as if Texas is really cold, or anything. "Just that Riley was gone and that she felt scared and alone. I'm guessing Clem must've found her first."

When Lilly's face hardens a little bit and she frowns while slowly glancing to the floor, I raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What's up?"

Not answering me immediately, Lilly frowns deeply as I follow her gaze into the board room; watching as Clementine goes over some plans with the rest of their small group. "She's being too stubborn for her own good," Lilly remarks with scorn. "I tried asking her if she was alright, and she just blew up in my fucking face. Just flat-out stone-walled me when I told her to take it easy and get some time to grieve. I think the power might be going to her head already…"

"Lilly," I tell her with a laugh, "she's twelve!"

"So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Think about it," I tell her smugly, finding it funny how she wouldn't realize what's probably going on here. "What starts to happen with kids her age around this time? We've all been through it – the moodiness, the wanting to be independent and figure things out yourself."

"…are you telling me that Clem's pregnant or something?"

"No, you dolt! _Puberty!_" I exclaim, practically smacking my forehead at the mere suggestion of that girl having a kid inside of her at twelve. "Girls mature faster than boys do, remember? So it'd kind of make sense why she'd be angry at you for something like that – just give her some time. I wouldn't be surprised if the puberty thing already started a while back with everything that's been going on already."

Giving up on carrying her and setting Ellie down on the floor, Lilly wipes her hands off on her jeans as she tries to wrap her head around it. Seriously, how is she not understanding this?

"Weren't you a kid before, too?" I ask with a joking smirk. "Or were you born at like fifty years old or something and are just working your way down?"

"Jane, this isn't normal – I've never seen her this way before! Puberty doesn't just suddenly _kick in _at one moment!" Lilly emphasizes, sliding down the wall as she too sits on the tiled floor. "I mean… fuck! It's not as if we're strangers, for crying out loud! I thought we were past this sort of shit already! Why can't you back me on this?"

"Because you're overreacting!"

"Yeah? Well I don't think that you're reacting _enough! _Jesus, Jane! What if this gets out of hand, huh?!"

"It will if you don't cool your god damn jets, Lilly!" I end up shouting; losing my cool as I glare at the woman with slight intimidation. Once the words leave my mouth, however, I restrain myself from spewing out anymore. I don't mean to yell at her, but sometimes it… it just happens, you know? I lose my cool sometimes the same way that she does, and I end up saying things that I usually regret afterwards.

Or even _do things _that I regret later, such as leaving AJ in the car while telling Kenny that… yeah, you get the idea.

"…are we having a fight?" Lilly mumbles, not looking inclined to continue this pointless banter either.

Sliding down beside the slightly older woman, I shrug my shoulders while letting out a huge sigh. "Yeah, I guess we are…" I admit, not feeling that ashamed to say it like it is. "Heh… I suppose it was bound to happen eventually, right? We used to fight all the time when we first met."

"Those were the days," Lilly remarks with a smirk, getting a playful shove from me. "Travelling the countryside, biting each other's heads off until Clem had to calm us down… How the fuck did we not kill each other back then?"

"We tried our best, remember? We got pretty close a few times," I mention, getting a bitter laugh out of my partner in crime. "Hell… if that shit starts up again, then I want a divorce."

"Don't tell me that you're having second thoughts _already!_"

"Come on, Lilly – let's be honest here," I tell her with a grin, "by the time that we end up hating each other's guts again, it won't even matter. We'll both probably be dead by that point anyways. So no need to worry – we're stuck with each other."

"Way to be optimistic, Jane…"

As the door to the board room creaks open and Tommy beckons for us to all come inside, I put a careful hand on Lilly's shoulder as she motions to wake Ellie up once again.

"We do need to make sure that Clem's alright… but there's a fine line that we can't cross here," I mention, standing up as I see Clementine hunched over a map with tired eyes. "She'll come to us when she's ready, okay? I don't want to lose her either, but forcing ourselves into her life is just gonna make shit worse. You hear me?"

Noting her hesitation, I try to analyze Lilly's face to get a good sense of what she might be thinking, but this woman's tough to decipher sometimes. If she doesn't want you to find out about something, then there's almost nothing that you can do to change her mind.

She's practically a locked vault when it comes to secrets, and I can tell that she's harboring some – even from me.

"Yeah," she mentions finally, not looking at me in the eyes, "I get it. Nothing to worry about."

Watching her stroll off into the room with all of those other people kind of hurts me. I thought we were friends and partners for life? What happened to not holding anything back and just being ourselves? What happened to making it easier on each other and just being able to talk without having anything to hide?

Looking down at my busted and mangled hand, I sigh as I realize that I might be just as guilty of that crime as she is. I still haven't said a word to anybody about stabbing Lorna to a bloody paste; letting that rage engulf me until I felt a sickening satisfaction with my handiwork. I still can't believe that I allowed myself to dwell at that level of hatred and loathing… it's haunted me ever since it happened a couple nights ago.

"Come on, kid," I sigh, trying to ignore that aching in my hand as I slowly pull Ellie to her feet. "Might as well see what they want."

_**Clem's POV**_

Well, this is it. The map's been laid out, the plans have been drawn up, and the troops are assembled – okay, we only have a handful of group members, but still. Armed and very dangerous, the five of us (minus Tommy and Ellie, who ended up staying behind to cover the base of operations) are out in the streets of Houston; in a new area of the city which we haven't really explored much of recently. Bo and James know the region a little bit, but even they are in the dark on what might be living around here.

Or, more importantly, _who _might be living around here. That's the main goal for right now – gather supplies, scout out the surrounding area, and get more people to join our community. I refuse to believe that this is some kind of army, and I won't let it come to that. Just because I'm the group-imposed "leader" doesn't mean that I'm ruling over everyone with an iron fist.

Imagine how stupid that would be if a twelve year old just started bossing everyone around! No, regardless of my position, we make these choices as a group. I just usually have the final say.

James at first seemed very weary and reluctant of my decision-making abilities, but thankfully he hasn't started to criticize anything just yet.

In time, maybe he'll come to respect me, but I'm not holding out much hope at this point. Not since Debbie got killed.

Speaking of which, I glance at the back of Lilly's head every so often as we move forward. I feel kinda bad for yelling at her like that, but what business is it of hers anyway?! Damn it! It's bad enough that I'm trying to hide this massive secret from everybody, but then she has to go prying into why I'm acting this way?!

…maybe I just need to divert her attention elsewhere.

"So why the hell are we going to this place again? What is it, some kind of grocery store?" Jane asks with skepticism as she wipes the sweat off her brow. It's kind of a crappy day to be doing this sort of thing, but it's still better than going out in the rain.

Sure wish that we had a giant fan or something, though.

"We need to eat, don't we?" I ask bluntly as we cross the narrow street. "There's not a whole bunch of food left back at the camp – maybe we could bring something back."

"Yeah… like a big, juicy steak, preferably," Bo mentions as he licks his lips humorously. "Damn… I shouldn't bring up food like that. I'm going nuts just thinking about it… but god damn, _steak_…"

Wrecked cars have been left haphazardly on the sidewalk; with a few having crashed into telephone poles and gotten crushed under the massive weight. You really don't realize how heavy those things actually are until they fall over, but the guy in the driver's seat certainly did. There's a wooden pole where his head should be, and I wince slightly as I see the dried blood painted out underneath.

"Come on," Jane encourages, turning me away from the gruesome scene as we come across a rather large, overturned transport truck flipped over onto its side. "We should probably check this thing out. Never know what could be inside."

"Let's get it open, then," I say, pulling out my pistol as Bo and Lilly grasp onto the door handles. As much as I'd like to think that I can do this kind of stuff on my own, my physical size says otherwise. I'm just too small.

As Bo pulls some sort of latch upwards with a whole lot of force, Lilly tries to open up her door as the metal screeches and blasts against our eardrums.

"Fucking… heavy…" she remarks, causing the rest of us to grasp onto the door to help her out. If the truck was upright, this would be a hell of a lot easier to break into, but thankfully as a team we manage to open the back of the truck.

We end up getting quite a lot more than we bargained for.

"Jesus…" Jane remarks, stepping inside as she inspects the various bags and cans and whatnot. "There's enough here for everyone six times over! Look at all this shit! Corn, beans, pears, peaches… How the hell are we gonna carry all of this back?"

Bo, climbing aboard as I pull myself up the ledge, lightly nudges one of the grocery bags until it shows the logo of the store we were heading towards. "I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth," he states, holding a can to inspect it, "but this right here is a gold mine. There's actually _too much _in here for us to just stumble upon."

"What do you mean, Bo?" James asks as I finally clue in to what he might be talking about.

"He's saying we might not be alone…" I acknowledge quietly, poking my head out and groaning as, sure enough, a couple of guys with pistols pop out from their hiding spots and aim their weapons at us.

Seeing no other choice, I raise my hands in surrender and encourage my posse to do the same.

"Easy," I tell them; glancing at two of them with caution. The two of them both look to be in their late teens, but they both seem very dangerous and ready to fire at will. "We don't want any trouble here… We were just out looking for food. Is this yours?"

"You'd better believe it – that's our truck, too, and you're standing right in it," the boy replies, holding his gun close to my head as he motions for all of us to get out. "On the ground, outside, right fucking now. Hurry up, or I put a bullet right between your eyes."

Keeping my cool, I nod as I look back to my companions; practically begging them to do the same. I don't really feel like getting shot today, thank you very much.

The boy's got a dark green sweater on, has light brown hair and dark brown eyes. On his back sits a machete that looks rather worn-down, reminding me slightly of Luke, but the face just screams Carlos and Sarah. He's got a kind of Hispanic vibe about him, and I shrug off his grip as he tries to hold onto me.

"Don't," I snarl lowly, not wanting to resort to violence but am still willing if it comes down to it. When he aims his pistol warningly towards me, I straighten up a little bit and step back. "Just… look, it doesn't have to be this way. We can leave the stuff here, and just be on our way."

"Elliot," the girl with him shrugs, "maybe she's got a bit of a point. They haven't actually taken anything yet – maybe we should just…"

"And do what, Nikita? Huh? Do you wanna be the one to tell Racheal the news about some group out wandering the streets, or should I?" Elliot questions, causing the girl's gaze to lower a bit. "It's just… fuck, we can't take the risk, alright? We'd get skinned alive if they found out we just let them all go! We can just shoot them all and be done with it – loot the bodies and take it back to camp!"

"You pull that trigger," Lilly warns, getting backed up by Jane and Bo as they all glower at the kid, "and you and your little girlfriend over here are both gonna end up dead. This is your last warning – walk away and let us go. I'm not gonna ask you again."

Feeling threatened, Elliot grabs onto me from behind my back and aims his pistol straight against my temple. Knowing fully well that this is gonna go south quickly if somebody doesn't do something quickly, I try another tactic.

Hopefully this one doesn't involve me having my brains splattered all over the concrete.

"Jesus, Elliot! What the hell are you doing?!" Nikita gasps, glancing back between me and her friend with vigor. "She's – she's just a damn _kid_, for god's sakes! This isn't how we do things – this shit isn't _us!_"

"It is if we want to live!" Elliot barks back, glaring as Lilly and Jane aim their guns directly at the new girl. James is kind of just watching the whole thing unfold, while Bo doesn't really know what to do in this situation.

Realizing that it's now or never, I try to come up with an excuse that'll keep everyone from pulling the trigger.

"We've got a shelter!" I explain loudly, trying to get the girl's attention as I make eye contact with her. "It can't be safe out here for you guys, right?! Not with the walkers around! Let me talk to your people, and we can work out some kind of deal! Nobody needs to fire a single shot!"

Managing to capture her interest a little bit, the girl looks over to Elliot with pleading eyes; partly because they probably need a new place to stay, but also because Lilly and Jane are about five seconds away from shooting her up like swiss cheese.

Thinking that he might just take me away regardless, I inwardly sigh in relief as his grip on me loosens and he puts his gun back into his pocket. "If this is some kind of fucked up joke, then I swear…"

"It's not – honest," I reassure, stepping back towards my people as they reluctantly lower their guns. They're not going to just put them away, but luckily this hasn't turned into yet another firefight. "We're making a community out here, and we were just looking for people to join up. That's it – we didn't want to rob you or anything."

"Could've fooled me," Elliot shakes his head. "Nikita? You alright? No bruises or cuts or anything from these assholes?"

"Watch it, jackass…" Lilly murmurs, but fortunately putting a muzzle on it after Elliot stares her down.

Seeing that the situation has simmered down a little bit, I look over to Bo for some guidance on what we should do next. Nodding, the older man steps forward in order to begin delegations.

Lilly and Jane give me a look that tells me how much they dislike this idea, but I can't back out on this now. Telling these two that we'd make a deal is what kept them from pulling the trigger in the first place, so that's what I'm gonna do.

"…and we're always looking for new recruits," Bo trails off, causing me to worry a little bit. Yeah, sure we need more people in our fold, but to ask a couple of strangers who almost tried to kill us a few seconds ago to join up seems a little… extreme. "Just let us talk to your people – maybe we could come to some kind of arrangement."

As Elliot and Bo converse some more, Nikita glances up and hears James rustling around through the grocery bags back in the truck. How he managed to get back in there without anyone noticing is beyond me, but the girl certainly doesn't look too happy about it. "Hey, you – Nutty Professor! Nobody said you could go through our stuff s'more! Quit rummaging around back there!"

Crushing a can in his hands angrily, James tosses a grocery bag against the wall as the contents spill and roll about the floor of the transport truck.

Or at least, the empty cans of what _used _to be food.

"You were fucking with us!" James accuses, tossing a can at Nikita's feet as he stomps out to yell at the lying little bastards. "Where's the actual food, you lying shitheads?! Oh, let me guess – you ate it all and left the fucking scraps to lead people here to their deaths! Fess up! You wanted to kidnap us and force us to do your bidding!"

"Hmph… looks like they got more than they bargained for then," Jane remarks, for once not disagreeing with what the mad doctor has to say this time around. "I've had enough of prison camps for one lifetime, thanks."

Shrugging his shoulders, Elliot tries to explain himself to the group of angry, pissed off survivors.

"We don't do it all the time – just when we need to get shit done around the store," he tells us, not going into more detail than that. "But like you said before: nobody needs to get hurt. We'll play ball if you do, you feel me?"

Diffusing the time bomb that is James, Bo steps in front of him as he tries to settle this arrangement once and for all. "Fine – how's about this? We bring two people back with you to your group, meet with whoever's in charge, and try to figure something out?"

Looking over at the guy she's with, Nikita nods her head as she forces me to stay out in front along with the rest of our group. Clearly they don't trust us enough to be sure that we won't just gun the both of them down when their backs are turned, and you know what? They'd be totally right – I can't speak for everyone here. Spirits and tensions among our numbers have been high recently, and it's already taken a load of convincing for the two sides (Jane, Lilly and Tommy vs. Bo and James) to not murder each other in their sleep.

So you can imagine how pleased everyone is to be forced to deal with even more strangers like this.

"Clem…" Lilly whispers to me, appearing at my side as I look up at her. "Are you sure about this? I mean, these guys seem like trouble to me… And we haven't exactly had a great history with big groups. I know it's too late to back out, but should we even _try _to deal with them?"

"Well… I think it might be a good idea," I tell her, glad to see that our little incident beforehand has been temporarily forgotten. "We need more people on our side. Maybe they're not _complete _assholes… Just a little bit, umm… _assholish_."

I notice the hesitation and slight doubt in her eyes, but she nods regardless. We've learned to trust each other's judgement over the past year or so, and we've developed a level of trust that I never would've thought possible beforehand – least of all with Lilly.

And it kind of worries me what's going to happen if she finds out that Ellie is…

"Fuck! We've got roamers up ahead," Bo announces, pointing to a group of ten of them or so heading straight towards us. I was starting to wonder why we hadn't encountered very many on the way over here, but now I'm starting to wish that it had stayed that way. "Is there any other way to get to this place?!"

"No, it's a straight shot through to the grocery store," Nikita shakes her head, confirming my suspicions that that's where these folks were stationed. She goes to pull out her gun, but Elliot stops her as he places his hand over her arm.

"Let these guys take 'em out. Show their worth," he says, laying back a ways behind with a smug look that makes me want to tear his face off. "You folks deal with this mess, we'll deal with you _and _give you a handful of food to take back. Our treat."

"You son of a bitch!" Lilly snaps; gunning down two of the walkers as she sharply glares at the little shit stain. "I'll wring your head out if we make it through this! Quit being such a cocky prick and help!"

Sitting back with an neutral expression, I try to focus on the growing threat that's surrounding us right now. We're all pretty much seasoned professionals at this by now, but we try not to take any chances with these guys.

"Clem!" Jane hollers at me, causing me to turn around as she tosses a screwdriver my way. "Save the bullets! And don't forget – go for the knees!"

Nodding, I glance up at an approaching walker with determination, but also a little fright. You never fully get used to seeing dead corpses wandering around trying to eat you, but you never forget how to put them down and send them back to whatever hell they spawned from.

Maneuvering around the beast, I kick it as hard as I can in the knee as the thing takes a bit of a tumble. However, it doesn't fall flat on its face like I expected it to; instead grabbing my leg as I struggle to squirm out of its grasp.

_BAM!_

"NIKITA! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"

"BEING A FUCKING HUMAN BEING, ELLIOT!" she bites back; saving my sorry ass by shooting the walker's arm clean off. I manage to finish the job as I stab the monster in the head, but man was that close! "YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS! GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND LET ME HELP THEM!"

"We don't need it," Jane remarks snarkily, stabbing the last walker with her hunting knife as she helps me to my feet. "You alright, Clem?"

Gasping for air, I manage to nod as the air re-enters my lungs. "Y-yeah… just a bit winded…" I tell her, rubbing my eyes as I try to regain my balance. No doubt my clumsiness is from staying up all night with the kids, and I make a mental note to never do that willingly ever again. It nearly cost me my life. "Is everyone else… cool?"

While most of the people nod, nobody suspects a thing as James quickly and quietly goes around the side, pulls out his own gun and bashes Elliot right across the face with it; sending the kid down to the ground as he gets ready to take the shot.

The bullet whizzes right past his ear into the ground as the guy sits there with a huge, bloody gash going across his face. If not for Lilly tackling James to the side, then the teen would more than likely be dead at this point.

Nikita looks less than amused, but Bo steps up to try and calm everyone's anxieties.

"Get off me, you fucking…!" James bites, probably not used to getting held back by a strong woman like Lilly before. The brown-haired lady knees him right where it hurts as she snatches his gun and tosses it to the side. The doctor groans in pain as he quickly doubles over.

"Get a fucking hold of yourself!" Lilly barks, smacking him across the face as his glasses fall to the ground beside him. "I'm pissed too, but trying to kill him is just gonna make shit hit the fan even faster! Is that what you want?!"

Spitting right in her face, Lilly wipes the man's saliva off of her cheek before socking the man multiple times in the head.

With nobody to stop her besides Bo (because nobody else really _wants _her to cease beating on him), Lilly roughly grabs James by the collar and snarls venomously. "You done now or what?!" she bellows as blood drips down his chin. When she finally drops the man back to the ground, he fumbles around for his glasses and painfully places them back on; glaring heavily at _me _for some reason.

"If your own people treat me like this," he snarls, "then you can pretty much consider our partnership over, Clementine! She's gone, or you're _all gone!_"

Glancing over at Bo, he rolls his eyes before shaking his head – I don't have anything to worry about on that front. He may be the only doctor we have in the group right now, but majority rules in this group. We're a democracy.

At least for now, anyways.

As tensions flare once again with Elliot standing up and threatening to shoot up our entire group, we're suddenly interrupted by a shrill whistle than causes all of us to cringe at the noise.

"STOP IT! EVERYONE, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Turning to look at the new voice, Jane eyes her wearily as I stand there with a skeptical stare. How many of these people are there?!

"Who the hell are you?" Jane demands, keeping a firm grip on her knife just in case this all goes to shit.

"She's with us," Nikita points out, forcing Elliot to step back as she pushes him behind her. "Emily, what the hell? We told you we'd handle it ourselves!"

"Oh, and you sure did a mighty fine job of that now, didn't you?" she remarks, rolling her eyes as she tries to help clean some of the blood off of Elliot's face. When he stubbornly swats her hand away, the girl sighs and shakes her head. "I can't help you if you won't let me! Can't you go one day without getting into a scrap? Honestly, just _one day_, and then I could die happily!"

Clearing my throat, I try getting their undivided attention as these three weirdoes continue to chat amongst themselves; almost lost in their own little world and acting as if we're not even there. "Umm… hello? Are you listening?"

"HEY! We're talking to you!" Lilly yells, getting an appreciative nod from me as they finally turn to our direction. Clearly I need to work on that sort of thing.

With a grunt, Emily stands and steps forwards towards us. "Mind telling me what you're doing around here? This here is our territory," she explains, causing Jane to chuckle slightly. "Something funny over there?"

"You don't _own _a whole fucking area – didn't you hear? The apocalypse came to town!" she remarks. "Your people ambushed us and held us against our will, and now you come over here all high and mighty? You folks have got a whole lot of nerve, don't you?"

"Jane, I've got this…" I tell her, trying to remind her about that whole _needing more people _thing that everyone seems to keep forgetting. "How about we try this again? I'm Clementine – that's Jane, Lilly and Bo. The guy with the broken nose is James…"

Seeing the man like this, all bloody and bruised, makes him seem like one of the dead that we just put down a little while ago. James has got so much anger in him nowadays – it's getting kind of over-bearing with all of these outbursts that he's having. What the hell happened to the kind, sensitive guy that welcomed me to the space center a while back?

Studying me for a moment, Emily looks around to see if we're all being serious. I don't exactly blame her – seeing a twelve year old kid as the person speaking for all of them is a little odd.

Once she's certain that I'm actually the person to talk to, she stares down at me with a doubtful look. "Well, I'm guessing that you've already met Elliot and Nikita," she mentions, ruffling her hair up a little bit. "So, are you here for some kind of deal or what? That's the only reason anybody stumbles around here anymore. We don't take too kindly to visitors – especially _living _ones."

Nodding her head, Nikita explains how we were willing to come to some kind of terms, mentioning how we've got a shelter deep in the heart of Houston.

All there is now is to see whether these folks are prepared to deal – I'm ready, but are they?

"…fair enough," she acknowledges with a nod; leading the way as she holds her rifle close to her chest. I take it that she might be the more reasonable one around here. "Come on then – the store's on the next street. Just keep your weapons sheathed, and I can promise you your safety."

_You can't promise anything, _I think to myself as we move forward – more divided than ever before. _You can't even fully protect yourselves out here…_

As we approach the decrepit and broken-down grocery store (and I mean _broken_ – it's definitely seen better days), I stop to try and figure out how I'm going to do this. How are we supposed to gain their trust and friendship if _this _is how we start things off?

Way to think ahead, guys! Seriously – awesome job!

"Beyond this point, only two of you are allowed inside. No more than that – everyone else waits outside," Emily says, hearing no argument from me but getting a bunch of annoyed looks from everyone else. "So, who's it gonna be?"

Turning around, I glance over at my friends and weigh my options. Lilly's got a temper, but she's smart and would be able to tell if we were getting screwed over in a deal.

Jane's usually pretty level-headed and cunning, but do I really want to bring her inside and leave all the angry ones out here alone? Hmm… I'll have to think about this…

Bo's had my back on a number of occasions, and it was pretty much his idea to start this whole thing in the first place. However, I'm not so sure if he's gonna be able to help me out in there, or just sit back and let me do the talking the whole time.

And then there's James… well, he might not exactly _like me _at the moment, but it'd definitely keep him from lashing out around here.

With a big sigh and a heavy heart, I make my decision as I look towards Jane with a shrug.

"Mind tagging along?" I ask as the two of us head on inside; hearing the doors shut behind us as the rest of the Fireflies await our return. "And Lilly? They better all be alive by the time we get back!"

Hopefully my diplomacy skills are up to snuff this time around.

_AN: If your OC wasn't introduced yet, don't worry – they will be eventually. I'm only gonna keep her at twelve years old for a little while longer before moving on, so more OCs will be in store when the time comes. Some of them might be introduced sometime later down the road, so please don't take offence if your character doesn't show up for a while. _

_Hopefully I got those three right so far :) _


	4. Diplomacy gone wrong

"FRIENDLIES COMING THROUGH! WE'VE GOT FRIENDLIES!"

"PASSWORD?"

Having to think it over for a second, Emily picks her brain until she snaps her fingers and bellows out once again. "BADGER! BADGER DON'T CARE!"

"It's honey badger, but fine! Let 'em through!" shouts a lady looking to be around Jane's age, though it's a little difficult to tell since it's so hard to see in here. Clearly they don't have electricity like our place does, but it's still pretty impressive with what they've come up with.

As two of the guards let us through to the front, Nikita mentions how she's going out back to join the rest of their brothers and sisters – causing Jane to quietly whisper to me, asking if this is some kind of fucked-up cult or something.

It takes some heavy willpower for me not to even let out a snort at that.

The shelves that used to house various types of food have been either overturned and set up as barricades, or chopped down to use as firewood or for boarding up windows. A small fire rests in the center of the grocery store, and the smoke rises up through a large, open skylight that stretches up high. They have some kind of animal roasting on a spit over the fire, with a kid looking around my age to be rotating it every once in a while.

Looks like they know what they're doing around here.

"Mind telling me why the bloody hell you've brought a group of strangers into our home, Em?" the lady I saw earlier asks.

"Don't look at me! Wasn't my idea!" Emily insists as she turns back towards us. "Elliot and Nikita picked them up from the truck again and – "

"Stop, just stop… I get the picture," she says, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a tired sigh. "Fuck, man… I thought we gave up that gimmick already! We can't keep trying to reel people in with an abandoned food truck! That's just for the little fish – you need a net in order to bring in the bigger ones…"

Looking uneasily at the woman, Emily pops out her collar as she shifts a little bit. "Uhh… sure, whatever you say, Racheal. Anyway, these folks are saying that they're willing to deal, if we're willing to listen."

As Racheal sits there in silence for a moment, scratching her chin in thought, Jane slowly and unnoticeably inches closer towards me; putting a hand on my back for some reason. Is it for protection? Is that what she's worried about?

Because if it is, then I'd be hard pressed to believe that the two of us alone could stop a small base full of people with big guns. _Know when and where to pick your battles_ – that's what Lilly drilled into my head before, back when we were at that prison out in Mexico.

I figure that the same rule would apply here, too. This is a battle that we definitely wouldn't be able to win.

"I don't really see the point of all this," Racheal admits, watching as the boy continues to twirl what appears to be some kind of cut-up deer over the burning embers. "What I mean is, we have pretty much everything we could ever want right here. Plenty of food, room to grow and safety in numbers. I don't think you've got much to offer us Miss…?"

"Clementine, and this is Jane," I point to the both of us, feeling a little off-put by her behaviour right now. "And we're trying to boost our numbers. We're at a camp not too far from here – it's a huge place and it's safe."

"Pshh… you're gonna have to do better than that, sugar," Racheal mocks, checking her nails disinterestedly. "I've been at this game for a long time, friend – a very long time. I know every trick in the book, and you think that offering us some kind of _safe haven _is gonna win us over? Ha! Well, I'm sorry to say that that's not good enough."

My eyes widen in alarm as Jane pulls her knife out of its holster, and before I can say anything to stop her, she slams the blade into the wooden table right in front of Racheal; clearly pissed off before negotiations have even begun.

"Listen up, you little shit," she growls, trying to intimidate the woman and succeeding by a tiny fraction. Jane's certainly scaring the shit out of me – I don't usually see her this way. "My friend here has been through fucking hell and back to get here, and could've easily gotten our group to blow each one of your group's brains out one by one. But she didn't – Clem came here peacefully to talk to your lame ass. So show my friend here some fucking respect."

As all eyes in the room turn towards us, probably shocked that somebody stood up to this girl, Racheal smirks before lifting up a finger and coming back with a few folding chairs – one for each of us. "You've managed to capture my attention," she tells us, as if this is some glorious accomplishment. She then gestures for me to make the first move; unfolding the chair as she sits down comfortably. "Emily, have a seat. Let's get this thing started then, shall we?"

_**Lilly's POV**_

"You worried about 'em?" Bo asks me casually, trying to strike up a conversation in order to break the ever-increasing silence out here. It's not as if I was _enjoying _the quiet or anything. "'Cause you look worried, to me at least. You've got those stress lines going across your forehead. You know the ones – those that you get after years of biting your nails over the simplest of things. It's probably not great for your heart, you know."

"Do you ever stop talking?" I question as James sits off by himself a few feet away from us. Bastard had it coming from a mile away.

Shrugging his shoulders, Bo twirls a piece of straw between his teeth as he tries (and fails miserably, might I add) to look like a stereotypical southerner. Where did he even get that anyways? There aren't any hay bales in sight!

"It's not as if we've got anything better out here than each other's company," he remarks, closing his eyes as the wind brushes past us and cools us down temporarily. Heat is the one thing about Texas that I still haven't gotten used to yet. "I always thought that the best cure for boredom is telling jokes. Wanna hear a good one? Of course you do! So, a guy walks into a bar late one night, and he goes up to the bartender. Orders a drink for himself, and the bartender says – "

"I think it might be a degenerative disease or something," I interrupt, glancing over as he looks at me in annoyance. "I honest to god don't think your gums can stop flapping! Is it hereditary, or did you contract it after trying to pick up chicks in high school like all the other little boys?"

"That's not what the bartender says…"

"I'm sure it would be if he ran into you."

Sighing in discontent, Bo leans up against the wall of the grocery store near me as I try to nurse my aching head. Migraines are a bitch, and this has been one hell of a long day. From getting into my fair share of shouting matches, to trying to wrap my head around this whole _Firefly _bullshit to even the physical violence that I've mainly dished out, you can say that my day's been nothing if not eventful.

And when I say that this whole thing is bullshit, I truly mean it. Not only is trying to find a cure a complete shame – mainly because I'm convinced that it can't be done – but also because I don't believe in big groups. Large crowds draw way too much attention, and that's one of the last things that you'd ever want when you're trying to survive.

It's bad enough that I have to live under the same roof as these two clowns, but to actually _work with them, too?! _Sheesh… if it wasn't for Clem, I'm sure that Jane and I would've packed up and left two nights ago.

…okay, fine. I suppose Ellie's not so bad to have around, either. I'll admit it – the kid's pretty cute for a six year old.

"You don't like me much, huh?" Bo asks, causing me to chuckle mirthlessly as I glance out onto the road.

"Gee, what gave it away?"

"Well, your constant bitchiness, for one thing."

"You weren't the first to tell me that," I mention, barely even fazed by these types of insults anymore, "and you certainly won't be the last. Come on, what'cha gonna hit me with next, Bo? I can take anything you dish at me."

Listening to the calls of a small flock of birds and watching them take off from the trees, I stifle back a yawn as the mid-afternoon sun hangs low in the sky. You know, as shitty and miserable as everything might seem with all of the dying and everything going on all around us, the planet itself doesn't actually look too bad. Before all of this, back when I was working at Warner Robbins out in Georgia, I hardly ever left the base at all. Never went to the Cherry Blossom Festivals that they'd have once a year, never went on hikes out in the fall when all the leaves would turn different colours. Nope, usually this was my schedule – wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, work all day, hit the little gym that they had there, go home, and then repeat the process the next day.

Sounds like a pretty boring life, doesn't it?

"Well," Bo continues, startling me out of la-la land, "there's also the fact that you've hurt and/or killed people that I used to live with. So there's that…"

Flinching at that one a little bit, I almost for a second think that he was talking about _Debbie _of all people, but I just play it off the way I usually do – glaring. Glaring and total indifference, I think those should be my go-to tactics.

"I did what I was told to do," I respond with stubbornness. "Nothing more, nothing less. Don't forget – you were the one who fired the first shot."

"It was actually Clementine, but fair enough," he admits, which really surprises me. You're telling me that fucking _Clem _was able to snipe at us from the rooftop? Wow… could've fooled me. "Hmm… maybe? Nah, never mind… You'd probably just shoot the thought down anyways…"

"If you're going to insist on being the biggest idiot around, then you might as well keep it going."

"Here's the thing – there's one, little detail that's been bugging the hell out of me. I can't imagine what it must feel like for you," Bo drags on, as if he's _trying _to be the most annoying person left on the planet. "You know what I think, Lilly? I think you're _lonely_."

_Snap._

"Shut… up…" I glower in a dark, warning tone; haunted by memories of when I was a kid growing up near Atlanta. I've buried those constant years of bullying and teasing under a blanket of discontent and misery, but Bo has suddenly dusted that off and revealed the wounds again.

Realizing that he's most likely hit the nail on the head, Bo – with a stupid, smug look that makes me want to tear his face off – places his hands on his hips as everything tightens within me.

"It's true, isn't it?" he questions, getting his answer as I let out a low growl through my teeth. "Sure, you and Jane might seem pretty close, but who else is left over? Clementine? Perhaps, but she's gonna grow up one day and move on. She'll be the bird leaving the nest for the first time, and then you'll still be standing there watching her take flight."

Hearing more than enough of this asshole, I turn around and try to punch him right in the face, but he ducks just in time as I painfully smack my fist against the brick wall of the grocery store. Nothing's broken, I hope, but I barely register the fresh cuts on my knuckles as I seethe with white-hot rage.

"Whoa there! Just take it easy, would you? I'm not trying to offend!" he says as I take a few steps towards him. "All I'm saying is that _maybe, _just maybe, you'd be better off letting more people into your life! There's no need to rush to instant violence all of the time!"

"You're trying to _provoke me!_" I accuse, jabbing a finger in his direction as my breathing becomes raspier. "You're deliberately trying to piss me off, you sack of shit! Well let me just say that you've done a good fucking job of it, because here I am! You've just woken up a sleeping fucking giant!"

"Don't even try talking to her, Bo – the most you could hope for is getting chopped up into tiny pieces," James spits lazily, not even bothering to look up as he sits on the pavement absentmindedly. "She's going to get everyone she cares about killed, and everyone here knows it. That temper's going to be the death of them all, if there's anyone actually left who'd be stupid enough to get close to her."

I'm so mind-numbingly enraged at this point that I don't even notice when three pickup trucks slowly make their way down the road, heading straight towards us as the dust flies behind their wheels. My attention is far too focused on these two men – I knew from the start that we wouldn't be able to get along! I just knew it!

Instantly pulling out my pistol, I aim it towards James as Bo readies his weapon towards me. "Lilly, he didn't mean that, I'm sure of it! Just put the gun down, okay? Don't make me do something that I'm not gonna like!"

"I meant every letter," James remarks quietly, finally having the stones to look at me with hate-filled eyes. "You're a fucking disgrace to this group, and I should've gutted you down when you and that _whore _invaded the station. We'd all be better off!"

Feeling whatever self-control that I had left suddenly break within my mind, I subconsciously place my pistol back into my pocket and give James my full and undivided attention. Bo eyes the trucks wearily as they approach the grocery store; urging us all to go back inside.

But I'm not going anywhere. Not today.

"How's about I tell you a story, James?" I propose, feeling gutsy as he glances over at me with mild curiosity. "I think it's something that you're _really _gonna love."

_**Clem's POV, five minutes earlier**_

"So, what do you think so far?" Emily asks her friend, who's sitting there and stewing over all of this. I think Jane must've really struck a chord in these two. "This place does sound pretty nice, you know. Electricity, glass windows and a whole lot of space. Think about it – how much longer are we gonna be able to stay cooped up in here for?"

"It ain't just up to you or me, Em. This is a group decision," Racheal points out, turning back around to the young boy fixing up dinner over the fire pit. "Zayne? Yoo-hoo? We need your opinion on something!"

Turning around, the guy stops what he's doing with a hint of annoyance on his face as he wipes the grease and grime off on his black pants.

"What about the deer? It'll burn if I leave it for too long!" he protests, groaning when Emily insists that he take a break and come over to the table to talk amongst themselves. "This better be good… I was almost finished with the food back there…"

Jane has, thankfully, pulled her knife out of the table and kept it sheathed ever since that little outburst she had back there. I knew she could be feisty, but I wasn't exactly expecting _that_. Usually she just comes up with some sarcastic response or just rolls her eyes and says that we should just leave, but nope – this time she just went with a full-on threat right off the bat.

Wanting to hear her thoughts on what we've proposed so far, I turn towards my honorary older sister expectantly.

"What do you think? Did we do well?"

Mulling it over for a seconds, Jane scratches her head as she addresses me. "Maybe we could've offered a little bit less, and we'll have to see what they're offering us, too," she tells me, but giving a smirk as she looks at me fondly. "But for your first time, I'd say you killed it, Clem. Hell, we wouldn't even be here if you hadn't tried to talk your way out of that mess. Things got pretty intense back there – I wasn't sure how long I could keep Lilly on the leash!"

"Ha! Yeah, no kidding…" I trail off, still feeling kind of crappy about the way I've been treating her recently. Within the past few days, I've yelled at her to mind her own business, kept my distance from her and nearly shot her when she and Jane came with that group they were in before. Not exactly a great way to start again, is it?

Jane, basically reading my mind as per usual, pats my shoulder in an attempt to cheer me up a little bit. "She knows you care about her, and she cares about you, too," she tells me. "Lilly just… has a hard time of showing that side of her. Like, a lot. Almost all the time, actually. You guys will be back on the right track in no time."

Twirling around in my chair, I decide to drop the conversation entirely for fear of confessing far too much. It's bad enough that I actually _did _shoot Jane back at the station, and the way that she instantly forgave me just made my insides hurt.

This place isn't the _worst _I've seen, but it's definitely in need of repairs. Clearly this grocery store was old enough to begin with, as the wood is rotting away in some places and there are various grimy, bullet-ridden and shattered windows stretching around the place; with armed guards up top to keep things running smoothly. Various advertisements that once showed special deals on food have largely been ripped or torn apart, but a bunch of the scraps have been left hanging on the wall. I'm not exactly sure where they'd keep the food, but I'll just let them sort that kind of thing out for themselves. As long as we get a nice, big share of it, then that's all that matters. I won't let this group go hungry any longer.

"Jane?"

"Hmm?"

"…your friend Tommy," I question, still feeling a little unsure even after we left, "he's a good guy, right? You can trust him?"

Nodding her head slowly, Jane furrows her brow in slight confusion. "As far as I know, yeah," she tells me as I twiddle my thumbs. "Why? Was he doing anything suspicious before we left?"

"Not that I saw, no. It's just that…" I sigh, staring at the table as I go over every horrible possibility in my head, "we've all got something there that isn't just going to be _replaced_."

Knowing exactly who it is that I'm speaking of, Jane sits back in her seat as their conversation comes to a close. "I've actually been meaning to talk to you about that…" she says, but is interrupted as Emily, Racheal and Zayne face us to come up with their own proposition.

Clearing her throat, Emily is the first to speak as she folds her hands together.

"We're thinking around a quarter of the food goes to you folks," she offers, which causes Jane to twitch a little bit. I don't think this is gonna go over very well. "In exchange, you let us move into this place _and _give us some guns to protect ourselves with. We're running low on ammo as it is. Sound fair?"

"_No!" _Jane immediately disagrees with fury. "Are you people off your meds or something?! _One fourth of the food?! _You haven't even shown us how much you _actually have! _One fourth could just be a few cans of beans, for all we know!"

"We've got lots of food!" Zayne insists, not wanting to miss out on a good opportunity for him and his buddies. "It's all in the back – canned stuff and plenty of meat that hasn't gone bad yet! I can show you all, if you want?"

Knowing fully well that Jane's not just going to take his word for it, I nod as I stand up to follow Zayne and Emily back to their food storage area. Racheal doesn't say a word to any of us; instead heading on over to Elliot to check and make sure that he hasn't toppled over from his injuries just yet.

I can't help but shudder as she watches me head down the hallway, but I give her a calculating stare back before taking a look at all of the food. Looks to me as though they weren't lying to us after all.

Curiously, I frown in concentration as I hear a small commotion going on outside. Is it just my imagination?

_**Lilly's POV**_

I'm about to yank the rug out from underneath James' feet. Enough hiding and running away from the truth – I'm not afraid of what he might do any longer. No, that fear has been replaced by uncontrollable rage and anger.

I want this fucking cocky prick to get a taste of what _real pain _feels like.

"How's about I enlighten you a little bit?" I tell him, completely ignoring Bo as he continues to aim his gun towards the trucks stopping nearby. "I bet it stings, doesn't it? Knowing that you couldn't save her; knowing that no matter what you did, it wouldn't matter. You let Debbie down, James – I know you did."

"…what the fuck are you saying?" James asks, most likely starting to clue in but needing to hear the truth for himself.

Holding nothing back, I stare him down with a demented satisfaction as I rock his insignificant world.

"I killed Debbie," I confess openly to him. "That's right – it was me. She attacked me in the office, so I grabbed a thermometer and jabbed it right through her neck. I watched her bleed out like a _stuffed pig_."

"This isn't the time, Lilly!" Bo calls back, concerned that nobody else is out here to help him.

But I simply shake my head and keep on going.

"Debbie tried to murder my ass, but I got to her first. There's only one thing that was really missing from this whole thing – you," I taunt, watching as he stands up with unrelenting hatred towards me. "If you were there, then maybe you could've stopped me. Maybe none of that could've happened if you had been just a _tiny bit _quicker. But no, you failed – just like you always have."

As he clenches his fists and starts to shake in bubbling rage, I take one last shot for a chance to add even more salt to the wound.

"But you know what would've made that so much sweeter?" I ask, having never felt this way since I killed Carley back in the day. "If you _had _been there to see it for yourself. I would've loved to have seen your face as I killed the very last person you gave two shits about. _Considering of course, if anyone cared about YOU._"

I'm pretty sure at this point, I've almost completely lost my mind.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" James roars, bowling me over as he tries to get the advantage over me. "YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?! DEAD! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Getting a couple of good ones right across my chin, James lets his weak side open as I punch him square in the throat; giving me an opening as I throw him to the ground off of me. Kicking him repeatedly in the side, I try my best to subdue him before he can grab onto a gun – assuming, of course, that Bo gives it back to him.

Standing up, James tries once again to tackle me to the ground, but I trip him up and send him straight towards the brick wall. I manage to block a punch to the head, but in a cowardly move, James bites onto my forearm and rips a thin layer of skin away in his teeth; sending white-hot pain coursing up my arm as I slam his head against the wall.

Doing that twice more, I fall backwards as James gets knocked completely unconscious onto the pavement. I clutch my arm and struggle not to scream out loud as I keep pressure on the wound. God fucking damn it – he _bit _me!

"Well, that was quite the show," comes a new, more sinister voice behind me. Turning around, I notice that the voice belongs to a woman – eerily reminiscent of Lorna in the way that she carries herself. I can't help but feel a little put-off by the slow clapping that she's doing as a gang of thugs comes out behind her. "I was worried that we may have come at a bad time, but it turns out that this as good a time as any! Y'all are a couple of fighters, aren't ya?"

"There's nothing for you here," Bo states darkly, more than likely pissed off about Debbie and the fact that I damn near killed James as well. "I suggest you turn around and leave before things get violent! This isn't what you want!"

Scoffing, the woman shakes her head in amusement before pulling out a pistol and shooting Bo right in the leg; sending him down to the pavement as her followers rush over towards him. I go to pull out my gun, put a swift blow to the head by a little girl with an eye patch has me seeing stars.

"There's violence almost everywhere – what harm is a little bit more gonna do?" the older woman says, towering over me as I slowly start to lose consciousness. "You, my dears, are going to make excellent bargaining chips for this place. Maybe Emily, Racheal and the rest will finally take my offer seriously, now that we've got hostages thrown into the mix. Time to add you two to the collection…"

_**Clem's POV**_

"JANE, WAIT!" I bellow after her, but cursing under my breath as she takes off through the front doors. I definitely wasn't imagining anything this time – if that gunshot was any indication, then something bad is going on outside. The grocery store group follows after me as I swing open the doors outside; watching as Jane tries running after a trio of vehicles that have already sped away in the distance. "Jane, you can't go after them! There's no chance!"

"THEY'VE GOT LILLY!" she shrieks, slamming her fist against a broken-down car as the trucks drive off. Seeing that a young girl is trying to run away from the scene after getting left behind accidentally, Jane roughly tackles her to the ground as I rush over to the scene. "Oh no, not today! You're not going _anywhere!_"

"Mmph… Get off me!" she struggles, but there's no escaping the angry clutches of Jane. She has the kid pinned down with both of her arms being held above her head, and I come to a stop as I kneel beside her. "Grr… LET ME GO!"

"Not happening," I snarl, getting pissed off and incredibly worried about Lilly and Bo's safety. How could they have possibly been kidnapped?! What would anyone have to gain over this?! "Let's go – we're bringing her inside for questioning. Emily, do you guys have a room where we could go?"

"Umm… yeah, there's one in the back. It's usually pretty cold, though…"

"Even better," I nod, watching as Jane forces the girl to her feet and holds her collar in a death grip. The girl looks to be Japanese-American with black hair and one blue eye – the other one is covered by an eye patch. "Let's see if she talks under pressure…"

"If she wants to live," Jane comments as we head back towards the grocery store, "then she fucking better."


	5. Cold war

…

…

"…_that's it. Nice and easy, people! We wouldn't want to break our two new toys when we just got them, am I right?"_

"_How much longer are we supposed to keep living like this, Trace? I mean, no offense, but we're living in a shit-hole in the middle of nowhere! You said we'd be living the good life by now!"_

"_Oh Josh, when will you ever learn?" _Tracy responds in a sarcastic manner; waking me up as she puts a firm hand underneath my leg._ "I don't have all the answers, but we make do with what the situation asks of us, no? And these two right here are gonna be our ticket to a new home – that grocery store will just be stop number one on our long road to survival."_

I feel myself being lifted up by at least three different people, but for some reason I'm lacking the strength to try and get away. Am I even awake right now? Or am I just trapped in between the realms of dreams and consciousness?

Well, whatever it is, it certainly _feels _real. I can scarcely remember how it is that I actually got here in the first place.

But wait… did she say _two _people? Who else is in this limbo with me?

"_Set 'em down in the holding cells," _Tracy tells her crew, making me question where exactly it is that we are right now. Holding cell? Oh god, please don't tell me this is another prison or some shit… I can't deal with that again!

I can feel some kind of flesh wound on my forearm as it hangs lazily at my side, but where did that come from again? Hmm… I remember standing outside somewhere, minding my own business… and then suddenly, James and I started…

…fuck, that's right. We fought each other and then I… wait, then that means…?

"Rise and shine, sweet thing!" Tracy chirps with a smirk, causing my eyes to flutter open as all the colours in the room start to rapidly appear. Feeling myself being placed down onto the floor, I cringe as I'm kicked in the abdomen and brushed up against the wall; unable to move.

"_Ughhh…"_

"Aww, don't mope! You should be thrilled right now!" she gloats, bending down on one knee in front of me as I lay face-down on the dirty floor. "You've just won an all-inclusive stay at our camp! You get the full treatment – your own room, some nice bloody walls to look at, and all the air you can breathe in. I hope you enjoy your stay here, we'll be back to collect you before you know it."

Fucking hell… this _isn't _a dream! This is my nightmare coming to life! As I slowly lift my face off of the floor after hearing the door slam shut behind Tracy, I cough a few times as the dirt and grime fills my lungs. I feel like I've been stabbed with a fork right through the lungs – weird, I know.

Damn it all… where the fuck am I, anyways? There's nothing in here but broken computer monitors, an office chair and an old, dust-covered desk with a busted coffee mug.

As one of the screens suddenly come to life, I jump back in surprise as it fizzles and whizzes; slowly revealing the image. On the screen is… wait a minute, is that Bo?! Did they take the both of us?

"She got it working, then," somebody remarks, startling me as I hear their voice. But where the hell is it coming from? "It's the only electricity we could get to run in the whole place… funny thing, huh? It's not as if it's really useful or anything… After all, what the hell's so good about a security camera when there's nothing really to see?"

"The fuck…?" I ask, totally confused on so many levels. Who's talking, why am I here, why is Bo there, where the fuck are Jane and Clem?

Hearing nothing but white noise for a few seconds or so, the voice reappears as I stay on high alert.

"Turn around – to the left," the voice commands me, so I slowly do as the person asks. I'm cautious and concerned as to why there's a walkie-talkie in here with me. "Pick it up and hold the button on the side… don't be paranoid, it's not a fucking bomb remote or anything."

_Bomb?! _I immediately think on instinct, now more concerned than ever before as I eye the object wearily. I wasn't thinking that it could be some kind of weapon before, but now that he's brought it up… what if he's lying?

…god, I've gotta stop with this kind of bullshit…

"Who is this?" I ask, thankfully not having blown anything or anyone up in the process. "Where am I, and why am I here?! Tell me!"

"Chill out a little bit, you're gonna be fine," he eases, but clearly having no idea what it's like to be in my shoes right now. Getting taken away and stuffed into a locked room isn't my definition of _fine_. "The name's Alden, you're at our camp in the security office, and… well, I can't answer your third question. Tracy's got no idea that I slipped this into your room before you got here. She'd skin me alive if she found out I was doing this…"

There seems to be a big glass window behind me, but I can't even see out of it when I put my face right up against it. It's like one of those windows that you'd see on the crime shows where they take the suspect in for questioning – if there's one thing I learned from watching those, it's that you can't see anyone from in here, but they can see _you _from the other side.

That little thought unnerves me quite a bit.

Glancing back at the security camera, I press the button on the walkie-talkie again to ask Alden a question. "Why would you even bother leaving this on? What are you people trying to do?"

Hearing the guy take a deep breath and sigh on the other end of the line, he tells me that he has to go before I hear the device get switched off, leaving me figuratively in the dark as I sit in the office chair; still puzzled as to why they would take the two of us away. I can't figure out for the life of me why they would do such a thing – we've got no connection to these people, and absolutely nothing in common with them. I've never met any of them before in my entire life, so what could they be planning here?

I continue to question that as I watch a couple of people suddenly burst into Bo's room and start to beat on him – I have no idea why they're doing this, but to me, it just looks as though they're looking for _somebody _to hit. Fucking assholes…

But the more that I think of what's been going on recently, am I really any better?

"STOP!" I bellow into the walkie-talkie, pressing my thumb so hard against the plastic that it hurts my hand. "FUCK, STOP THIS! THEY'RE GONNA KILL HIM! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH! STOP IT RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"

When they actually do cease beating on Bo, and I watch as they leave the poor guy on the floor (not moving around at all), I stare at this stupid thing in shock. Huh, I honestly didn't think that would work! I thought for sure that this Alden guy, whoever he is, would just sit back and do nothing to stop the violence from occurring in there.

Well, perhaps I have some force and command for respect left in me after all…

"…_so, this is what you were hiding from all of us, eh Alden?" _Tracy's voice crackles to life as I immediately toss the device into the corner. Doesn't keep me from hearing all that she's saying, however. _"Couldn't handle not owning a cellphone anymore, so this is the closest thing you could find. Is that why you disobeyed a direct order?"_

Well, so much for having mind control powers or anything cool like that. I can't hear any response because Tracy's obviously got the walkie talkie in her possession, but I'd imagine that Alden's trying to come up with the best excuse that he can manage. I hope it's something clever, and not something completely idiotic like he felt like making a new friend or wanting me to be comfortable. You know, any of those bullshit lines that people come up with under pressure.

"_Shush, shush, shush! I don't wanna hear it, Ald! Jesus, you're making this so much harder for me, you know that?" _she comments as I hear a sigh on the other end of the line. _"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do with ya now! I mean, hell, the only thing I can think of is to make you and Kazuki end up looking like twins – no offense, kiddo. Kazuki…? Alright, where the fuck did she go?"_

Not knowing who this girl is, I slowly walk back towards the table and lean stiffly up against it; trying to prepare myself for whatever comes next. This woman's freaking me out more with every sentence she speaks, and seeing Bo still sprawled out on the floor like that reminds me of just how much control she must have around here. These people are practically her mind-controlled robot slaves.

"…_hmm, I see… Joshua, do you mind if I ask you one tiny, little question, hon? HOW THE FLYING FUCK DID KAZUKI GET LEFT BEHIND?!" _she roars as I try to get rid of the ringing in my ears when the walkie-talkie crackles. Man, is she loud or what? _"God damn it! God motherfucking damn it! This isn't an ideal situation, fellas! Not one. Fucking. Bit. __**Sigh**__… I suppose you know what has to happen now, don't you?"_

Steeling my nerves, I elicit a small growl from the back of my throat as a bunch of these people stroll into my solitary confinement; not looking too happy as Tracy steps out from the pack.

"_We're gonna need some answers, and right now," _she says coolly while running her fingers along a metal rod, _"you're our most reliable source. So, if you'd rather not end up like your friend over there, then you'd better start talking. Quickly."_

…

_**Clem's POV **_

"_I'm not going to be so nice this time," _Jane remarks; straddling the table with her hands and looming dangerously in front of the little informant. _"Now tell me – where's your base, why have they taken Lilly, and what the fuck do you people want from us? Answer me, right now."_

"…_I don't know, I haven't been with them for very long…"_

"_That's the same ridiculous answer you've been giving me for the past ten minutes!"_

"_Then maybe you should take the hint…" _she murmurs cockily as Jane breathes sharply out her nose; taking out her knife and casually twirling it around. The prisoner's face whitens a little bit as the light from the room glints off the sharp object.

"_You think I'm playing here? Do you honestly think I'm in the mood for any of your bullshit?!" _she demands, glaring a hole through the scared kid. _"Your life is in my hands now, got that? Now you better tell me what I want to know or else… well, you know what happens next."_

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I try to prevent a headache from forming as I see Jane holding the knife at her side. Under normal circumstances, I'm almost certain that the woman that I look up to so much would just be bluffing; doing this all for show and dramatic effect. However, I'm not so sure that that's the case this time around.

Jane's on the warpath, and I don't know if I can take her off.

"She's a real charmer, isn't she?" Emily comments, standing beside me as we watch the scene unfold.

"She's just… stressed," I try to excuse for her as I knock on the window and shake my head at Jane. She doesn't seem to get the message though. "Besides me, Lilly's really all she has that she knows. Jane's just worried about something happening to her that none of us are gonna like."

This has been a pattern that's gone on for quite a while now. I almost always have to try and explain that Jane and Lilly aren't just raging, crazy people that want to burn everything around them until they get what they want. I swear, how do they even get by on their own anymore? Their hot-headedness has gotten them into trouble more than once beforehand, but it seems lately that any small thing has been enough to set them off.

Noticing Emily's eyes lingering over at me, I turn to her and glance curiously.

"What?"

"How old are you actually?"

Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I answer with "twelve" before folding my arms across my chest. We all know where this is going…

"Twelve… wow," she breathes out, running a hand through her hair as Racheal passes behind us. I still don't know what her deal is – why does she always stare at me like I'm gonna be some kind of problem? "And you're making the decisions for your whole group? You? At twelve years old?"

"Yes, I _am_," I retort sharply, feeling slightly insulted as I stand there stewing. I'm so tired of everybody judging me because of my age – what the hell do they know about me?! "Honestly, I could probably deal with stuff that people twice my age couldn't do."

"Maybe," she shrugs, probably sensing the growing tension as the conversation goes forward. "But I've seen kids like you go through this kind of thing before. Like Zayne, for instance. We picked him up on the side of the road; completely surrounded by a whole pack of roamers. When we asked him what the hell he was thinking, trying to take them all on himself, he said that it was a hell of a lot easier than dealing with the assholes he was with before."

"How does this have anything to do with me?"

Slightly off-put by how blunt I'm being, Emily shakes it off as she spots Elliot and Nikita walking towards her. "Despite how capable you might be," she remarks, "there's almost always gonna be somebody waiting there, looking to take advantage of you. I just hope that it doesn't happen to you."

Feeling slightly confident that I won't have to worry about that, I turn my head to the side with indignity. Nearly every single person that I've come across underestimates me – none of them truly understand…

_You have to MAKE them see, sweet pea, _Lee tells me as I slowly shut my eyes, thankfully not having had an episode since Riley… yeah. Those scars still haven't properly healed just yet.

Can't even imagine what Ellie must be going through right now.

"Better get in there before we have to mop up a puddle of blood," Emily mentions as Jane's grip on her knife becomes even more intense. Not wanting to take a chance, I jog over to the door and step inside; shutting it softly closed behind me as I feel the chill prickle at my arms. No more getting rid of coats – that should be a resolution for me.

Gulping, I try craning my neck to look around Jane as she continues to belittle the kid with fire spewing from her lips. I've gotta say, she's getting pretty good at this whole _threatening _act.

"Jane?" I try getting her attention as I put my hands in my jean pockets. "Why don't I try taking over for a little while? You look like you could use a break."

Gritting her teeth together, Jane snarls at our captive as she holds out the knife closer to the kid's neck. Alarms go off in my head as I try to keep her from doing something she'll undoubtedly regret.

"I'll fucking slice you like a watermelon if you don't tell me something useful right this damn second!" she warns, getting a dangerous glint in her eyes that reminds me of our encounter with Arvo on the observation deck. Gripping the collar of her shirt, Jane pulls her closer as I pleadingly tug on her arm. "Where?! WHERE?!"

"Jane, stop! She's just a kid!" I plead, despite what I just said about being a kid to Emily a few seconds ago. I'm not a hypocrite, I swear! "You don't have to do this, okay?! Jesus, Jane – leave her alone! You're better than this!"

As if finally noticing that I'm here, Jane drops the knife to the floor uselessly as she widens her eyes in shock at what she was about to do. It's easy to forget how much more physical strength she has than I do, but Lilly's even stronger than _her_. I could only imagine what it'd be like if she was here and Jane was being held captive… clean-up aisle four, most likely.

And no, it wouldn't be for spilled tomato sauce.

"Won't kill… not again…" she mutters to herself, confusing the hell out of me as she firmly shuts her eyes and shakes her head violently. Trying to collect herself, Jane puts her knife back into its holster before locking eyes with me. "You'd better get her to talk… I'm not waiting around anymore."

"Just… just let me handle it, alright? Go walk it off for a little bit," I tell her firmly, feeling slightly scared of how pissed off she's become. When she kicks the door wide open in frustration and nearly rams into Zayne, I sigh as she groans and storms out of the grocery store.

I think their traits are starting to rub off on each other – hers and Lilly's, I mean.

Picking up the chair that Jane had bowled over beforehand, I set it upright as I slowly sit down at the table and fold my hands together. The kid looks terrified, as if she just went through the most traumatic thing in her life, but I can't feel sorry for her very much. After all, Lilly's one of my closest friends as well, so any sympathy I may have had for this girl is overshadowed. Her group has definitely crossed the line.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep her from coming back in here and killing you – for real this time," I tell her with a cold expression. When she says nothing and continues to glare at the wooden table, I lightly tap her cheek to get her attention. "Eyes front, got it? Paying attention right now might just save your life. How about… how about we start with a name? You got one of those?"

"…Kazuki…" she mumbles, just barely loud enough for me to hear as I nod.

"Well, alright, Kazuki," I comment, glad to see that we're maybe starting to get somewhere. I'm pretty sure that this is already farther than Jane got with her. When I notice the thing stretched across her eye, I gulp before asking this next question. "So, umm… how did you get the… you know..."

To my surprise (and slight disgust), Kazuki lifts the eye patch completely off and tosses it onto the table. The wound seems pretty old and there doesn't seem to be any blood smears around, but the eye is completely destroyed and there's a deep, gross-looking cut that's gouged out the eye socket almost completely. That wound won't heal properly for as long as she lives.

"This happened last year," she explains with a deep frown, as if even talking about it is a trigger for past demons. "I stole a bunch of supplies with my Mom… but we got caught. They shot her right in front of me… and then he grabbed a pair of scissors and… and…"

"…was this the group that you're in now?" I ask pensively, trying to remain neutral but finding it really hard not to feel bad for this girl.

Shaking her head, Kazuki straps the patch back across her eye with a wince as she relays the short form of what happened. "I stayed for a few months, but left as soon as the time was right. I was with this woman named Katie Green for a while, but we got separated after they started chasing us. I found Tracy and Joshua a few miles later after running away, and that was it. I never heard from them ever again."

Biting my tongue for a moment, I try to relay this story over in my head; trying to pick it apart and see if there aren't any pieces that don't make sense. I find it hard to believe that she'd just willingly stay there for months before leaving with this _Katie _woman, whoever she is, but what concerns me more is the group that she's in _right now_.

"Why would they kidnap my friend?" I ask, wanting to get to the bottom of this already so that we can set about on finding her. "We didn't do anything to you guys, so – "

"What do you mean you _didn't do anything?! _Of course you did!" she snaps at me angrily, causing me to furrow my brow in confusion. "You assholes took Zayne away from us! He belonged in _our _group, not yours! And you bastards just took him anyway!"

"Zayne?" I question, looking out the window for a brief moment as I see him sitting alone; keeping to himself as he watches the flames dance over the pit. When he sees me glancing over at him, he frowns slightly before standing up to go find another place to sit where he won't be disturbed. "But… that doesn't make sense. Emily just told me that…"

"_NIKITA! NOOOOO!" _

Alarmed, I quickly stand up and turn to see what all the ruckus is about; shouting at Kazuki to stay put as I make sure to lock the door behind me. Can't take any chances with her trying to escape.

"What the hell is going on?!" I ask as Zayne rushes past me in all of the chaos.

Shrugging his shoulders, the boy points out to the front as I jog alongside him. "I think that was Elliot yelling!" he tells me, and something in the pit of my stomach prays that this doesn't have anything to do with Jane. "Out the front, come on! Let's… Holy shit…"

Elliot's bent down beside Nikita – or what _used to be _her – as he holds one of her hands in hers. There's no waking her up from this, however, as a crossbow bolt sticks right out of her eye socket and sends crimson blood to flow down her face. It's truly a grizzly scene – the arrow must've gone straight through to her brain.

It doesn't take a genius to know who's responsible for this – and no, it's not Jane this time.

"Oh my god… Nikita, no… this can't be happening…" Elliot whimpers, widening his eyes in sadness and disgust as he glances upon her face. "Those fuckers… God damn it, this is… Fuck!"

Picking the guy up off the ground, Emily's hand is swatted away as Elliot marches off on his own; needing some space as he screeches out that he'll be perfectly fine. Everybody knows that that's not the case right now, however, as Jane yanks the arrow out of Nikita's eye. I almost lose my lunch as the entire eyeball comes out along with it.

What makes Jane's ears blow out steam, though, is the little note attached to the arrow… and a few strands of brown hair tied around it.

Jane snaps the arrow in half as she reads the note.

"_Pack up and get out – leave all the supplies behind, or she's next…_" Jane reads, scrunching up the paper in her fists as I glance over at Racheal.

Taking one look over at her, my heart drops as I realize what her answer is.

"Not happening…" Racheal disagrees firmly. "You do what you want, but we're not budging an inch. I'll die before I let that happen."

_Better people have regretted those words, _I think to myself, preparing for the ensuing boiled argument that's bound to happen any second now.


	6. Needs of the many

_AN: Damn, thank you so much for all the support, guys! I'm glad you're enjoying this just as much as I am! It's awesome to hear the great feedback you guys have been dishing out :D And I know that I've bugged you guys before about this, but the petition to bring Lilly back is still up, and we need more signatures! If you'd like to sign it, please follow the link in my profile!_

_Just to note for this chapter, it's gonna contain a few different POV's, do I'm going to have them in bold so that you don't get confused. Now, let's check in on how Ellie's been doing…_

…

_**Ellie's POV**_

I haven't stopped crying in two whole days.

Yep, you heard me right. Nothing but tears, sad times and more tears ever since Riley was taken away from me. Huh… it kind of seems selfish of me to say it like that, doesn't it? It's almost like she was one of my toys that the bad guys came and took away from me… but Riley wasn't a toy. Not even a little bit.

She wasn't made of plastic. She couldn't get thrown into the air and have nothing bad happen to her once she hit the ground. She couldn't have her arms and legs twisted around without having it hurt like… like _hell_.

And you know what? I wouldn't have traded her for anything.

Riley was the bestest friend I ever had – we played together even before we were big girls like I am right now. We always used to have so much fun living on the same street; throwing Frisbees into Mr. Johnson's swimming pool, chasing the stray cats around (at least until they started scratching back), and even that time where Riley got her shoe stuck in the fence when we were were trying to get out of Mr. Johnson's backyard.

Except that time, Mr. Johnson was trying to eat us.

Why do things have to be so big and scary now? Riley and I were super heroes, weren't we? Why did stuff have to get all messed up? Why does Riley have to be gone now? I want her to come back home with me!

That's what I've been trying to do for the past couple of days, you know. Closing my eyes tightly and wishing hard enough that all of this was a bad dream, and that Riley could poke me in the ribs and tell me to stop being such a little baby. I want her to bug me and call me stupid nicknames and tell me secrets that nobody else would be able to know.

I can't do any of that fun stuff anymore. Clementine says that we can't be kids anymore, but she's being as clear as mud! Isn't she still a kid too? Why does she have to act all grown up all the time?

Sniffling on the bed and bringing my knees closer to my chest, I wipe my nose with my sleeve (which is still _way _too big for me) as I see Tommy's shadow dance across the hallway floor. He's nice enough, I guess, and he's keeping this place safe from those monsters outside. But I don't know him very well, so I've barely said a word to the guy ever since Clem left with the others.

I miss her already… I hope Clementine comes back soon. I haven't felt this lonely in forever…

"Just checkin' in," Tommy knocks on the door with a saddened smile. That's what everyone does now when they're around me now – I don't like it! "So, uh… how're you doing, sweetheart?"

I make eye contact for only a brief moment before shrugging my shoulders and looking back down to the covers.

Nodding his head slowly while biting his lip, Tommy sits down on the edge of the bed as he folds his hands together. I'm too tired right now to tell him to get off, so he turns to me awkwardly before continuing. "I know it ain't a great time for ya right now, but if there's anything you need…"

Shaking my head _no_, I try to keep it all together as I hear the older man sigh deeply. I really don't feel like talking right now, but I hope he doesn't take it personally or anything. I've just been really sad lately and am trying my best to get over it.

"Well… I'll leave you to it, then," he says; patting my shoulder as he stands up to leave.

Before he can do that, however, I surprise him and even myself by stopping him in his tracks.

"…wait…"

Turning around, Tommy beckons for me to continue as I look up at him with fear-filled eyes.

"Tommy…" I say nervously, "are Clem and the others okay? I haven't heard from them in a long while."

Noting the hesitation on his face as he looks to the floor, I practically beg him with my eyes to tell me what I _want _to hear. I don't care if he's lying – I just want something to make the pain go away.

I need reassurance to make the achy pains go away.

"They're a tough bunch, that lot," Tommy tells me, which lifts my hopes up just a little bit. "There's a whole bunch of guys and gals in that group that can keep each other safe. I'm sure they're gonna be just fine."

"…okay…" I agree, knowing fully well that he doesn't have all the answers. I don't wanna see anybody else get hurt, but how are we supposed to know from over here?

But as I watch Tommy head back down the hallway and leave me alone in my room, with Riley's bed all freshly made and unoccupied, I know in my gut that I have to stay positive about all of this.

It's what Mommy and Riley would've wanted me to do.

….

_**Lilly's POV**_

"N-no… no more, please…" I beg pitifully, holding out a weak, shaking hand in a desperate attempt for this assault to stop. "I'll… I'll tell you anything… _cough-cough_… Just… just no more…"

Satisfied with the massive welts, cuts and bruises that she's left across my body – leaving me a completely beaten mess – Tracy hands the rod off to Joshua as she grabs me by the jacket roughly. Josh exits the room as per her request, giving me one last harsh look before making his exit. I shriek out in shrill pain as her other hand presses down on my thigh, but thankfully she stops as I'm flipped onto my back.

Jane… Clem… I'm so sorry…

"We were only there for a day!" I exclaim as I feel little droplets of sweat form on my forehead. "They… they have a whole group there… guns… ammo… food… We wanted to try and bargain with them… They should still be there… That's all I know…"

As the blood slowly trickles down from my nose, I watch as her grin goes from small to wicked within a small matter of seconds; indicating that something definitely isn't right here.

"Wanna hear a little secret?" she whispers to me, but I can't respond without at least _something _hurting within me. It hurts to _breathe_, let alone actually move around. "Here's the thing: I actually already know more about that grocery store than you do. So really, this whole begging thing was pretty unnecessary on your part."

"…what…"

"It was Josh's idea, so thank him if you want to be grateful to anybody. He's kind of a sick puppy, that one," she explains casually, as if she was just pulling up a weed or something. "Let me fill you in on something, Lilly – nobody here gives a rat's ass about you. You're alone – hell, even your friend Bo over there was saying how much of a piece of shit you were before we arrived. You're _nothing_; this is going to be your final resting place unless we're given what we've asked for. So get comfortable here, 'cause you're gonna be on death row for quite some time."

…no, that can't be true. I know my friends, and I know _damn well _that they haven't forgotten about me. Clem and Jane are my fucking family now, and families stick together through thick and thin. They… they wouldn't abandon me now…

There's no doubt in my mind that they would come back for me… I have to hold out on that sliver of hope.

"You're… lying…" I tell her defiantly, gritting my teeth as she continues to try and drill this notion in my head. "No… you're full of shit! They're coming… and they're gonna take you down…"

"Oh, I've got no doubt that they're gonna try coming for me soon enough," Tracy agrees, "and that's why I've sent people back to finish the job and kill _every last one of them_."

…oh god, no…

Feeling my heart drop as she whispers that so convincingly to me, my mind spins in a whirlwind of possibilities. Is she bluffing, or has she actually sent someone back to the grocery store?! Could Jane and Clem have their lives be in danger?!

God damn it! Must… get… up…

Groaning as my body refuses to cooperate and falls back to the floor, Tracy wipes some loose strands of hair out of my eyes as she stands to leave me in shambles. I've never felt so afraid in my entire life, and it's not even because _I'm _in danger. My life pales in comparison to Jane and Clem's, especially after all the shit that I've been doing over the past three or four years.

If something were to happen to them… I don't think I'd be able to live with myself.

"Make sure to keep an eye on the screens tonight," she mentions as an afterthought. "Wouldn't want to miss the action now, would we?"

I want to question what she means by that, but by the time I roll over to face her, Tracy's already closed the door behind her and left me in my own state of despair and misery. The way she said that sounded incredibly foreboding, but what could she possibly have been inferring just now?

I mean, the only thing that I see on the screen is the room where Bo…

"Fucking Christ…" I whisper, widening my eyes in realization.

…

_**Clem's POV **_

"Did you miss out on the little detail where your _friend FUCKING DIED?!_" Jane yells, slamming the crunched-up piece of paper on the ground as she points to Nikita's corpse sitting along the wall. At least she wasn't able to turn, but I just hope that it was quick and that she didn't feel any pain. "There's nothing difficult to understand about this! Drop our shit and let them come in! That's all there is to it!"

"We're not going to just give up all of our supplies for the _miniscule _chance that they'll give up your friend! We don't even know who you people are!" Racheal argues. I'll admit, she does have a bit of a point. Would we be willing to lay down our means of survival if we wanted to get somebody back that _we _didn't know? Probably not.

But this is Lilly, and I'm not giving up on her that easily.

"You could come stay with us, and we'll double the deal on those weapons!" I propose, trying to find a more peaceful solution that doesn't end up pissing anybody off. "Look, this group is dangerous, and they have two of our friends captive! That girl we have in there, Kazuki? Maybe we could try to trade her so that you don't have to give up all of your food! There's gotta be another way!"

Honestly, I can't believe that I just said that we could trade _a human being _away as if it was some sort of commodity, but fortunately nobody's paying it much mind right now. I'm not in charge of people's fates, and I really shouldn't try to be.

I don't want to end up like some sort of supreme ruler here. I've got to keep a level head…

"You guys don't understand… They're not the sort of group to negotiate with people," Emily admits, confirming my suspicions that they'd known these guys beforehand.

Clenching a small fist, I decide to call them out on that big detail, as well as what Kazuki told me earlier about the boy in their little group. "You knew these assholes already, and you never said a word!" I remark, working my way over to Jane's side. "Why would you lie about this?!"

"It's not as if it's any of your business anyways," Racheal fires back at me as I turn towards the boy in their group with a big secret of his own.

"And _you_," I point over at Zayne, "you've got some explaining to do – right now. I know that you're not supposed to be here, and that this isn't actually _your _group. You know that little girl in there, don't you? Why did these guys take you away from your old group?"

"You'd better fucking step off right this second," Racheal threatens me as I 'm shoved backwards a little bit. Jane instinctively reaches for her knife, but I tell her not to take it out of the sheath as I stare Racheal down. "You've got absolutely zero idea what you're talking about, so I'd suggest you drop it before this turns ugly. I don't hurt kids, but I've got absolutely no problem with putting you out in the street. _Drop it._"

Smearing out the wrinkle in my shirt from her pushing me, I glare at her, Emily and Zayne accusingly – that's practically all the evidence I need.

Seems that this group's got a bit of a history!

"Why would she lie to me in there then, huh? What would she have to gain from lying, and how the hell would she know his name?" I press on, watching as their little charade crumbles all around them. "Just tell us the truth here, guys! We need to know what's going on!"

"We've got a common enemy out there," Jane adds, having more than enough reason to hate this mysterious group's guts. "There's no sense in hiding any of this shit from us! If you know something, _anything at all _that might help us with dealing with these punks, then you have to tell us! Now, what's this about a kid getting kidnapped?"

"_What did I just fucking say?!_" Racheal snaps, shrugging off Emily's hand when she tries to calm her down. "No, not this time, Emily! We already put that shit to bed, and we don't need to bring it back! It's… it's not worth it…"

Seeming to realize that the cat's out of the bag on this one, Emily ignores Racheal's request as she frowns sadly at Zayne. For his part, the boy doesn't really look like he knows what to say anymore.

"It was a year ago now, I think…" Emily starts, rolling her eyes as Racheal groans in annoyance. "Look, if you're not gonna say anything, then I will! It's bad enough that we've got all of this raining down on our heads! So don't give me any hell right now, alright?!"

"Just shut up and keep going," Jane deadpans as Emily frowns at her.

"Fine… _Anyways_," she continues, "we were a much smaller group beforehand, probably only a handful of us were around. We found this grocery store and started setting up to keep the dead things from getting inside. Elliot, Racheal and I wandered around a little bit trying to find supplies and whatnot – kind of like what you guys were doing. What we stumbled upon was… well, it was a setup like nothing we had seen in a long while."

"It was a construction site," Racheal adds from her spot against the wall, probably figuring that it doesn't matter what they say now. "Think of it as a massive hole in the ground with metal pipes and shit holding it all together. There were bulldozers and pickup trucks and all sorts of vehicles just lying around for the taking. Too bad that there was already a group occupying it – they called themselves the Smugglers."

"Smugglers?" Jane repeats as I too get confused at the name. "What, like, thieves or something? Why would they want to be called that? Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?"

Nodding her head, Emily explains that they must've thought that it would scare other people away and keep people from trying to take supplies away from _they themselves. _How that's supposed to work is anyone's guess, really, but I decide to cut the story short in order to get a little bit of background info on Zayne here.

"So why was he with them?" I question, noticing how the boy's been silent pretty much the whole time.

Wrapping an arm around the thirteen year old Emily ruffles his hair around a little bit fondly. Looks as though they've developed a pretty close bond.

"We found him getting yelled at outside the perimeter – "

"It was a bit more than just _yelling _I'd say, Emily," Racheal infers, gesturing over to Zayne as she speaks. "They were fucking the kid up for no god damn reason! They would've come close to beating him within an inch of his life if we didn't show up when we did."

Looking back in annoyance, Emily shakes her head at Racheal's lack of subtlety. "Gee, why don't we make the guy feel _worse _about it, Rach?"

Jane, noticing Zayne's hesitance and pensiveness, bends down on one knee in front of him to talk to the guy personally. "Look, kid," she starts, with me noticing that her anger has finally sizzled out a little bit. Replacing it now is mostly just worry and urgency. "Is that where their main base is? Is that where they would've taken Lilly and Bo?"

"If they were gonna be anywhere, that's the place I'd check first," he acknowledges, looking to Emily for reassurance. "I can take some people there, if you'd like? I think I can show us the way."

While Racheal frowns at the idea and shakes her head in disagreement, Emily steps in and says that they should at least check the place out. "There shouldn't be a whole lot of us going, though," she points out wisely. "They'll be able to tell if a whole platoon of armed survivors is lurking around their place – I'd say you bring three or four at the most."

As Emily and Zayne head inside to get some gear together, Racheal mutters something under her breath before shaking her head and walking back into the store; taking a glance back towards me before doing so.

Thinking nothing of it, I turn back towards Jane, who's looking as though she was just forced to keep all of her inner thoughts stuffed inside of her. Good thing, too – I don't think I'd be able to handle another meltdown from her today.

"They didn't even move the body," Jane comments with distaste, causing me to look over at the gross form of Nikita. "Didn't even budge it – just left her there for the flies to get at. It seems so… _wrong_."

"Maybe they just want Elliot to have some more time with her before they do something," I suggest, not really seeing any other reasoning behind it.

As Jane deeply sighs and runs her hand tiredly over her face, I squeeze her hand in support. It's not a lot, but it's all I can come up with at the moment. I don't think Jane needs or wants a hug right now.

That _touch-feely _stuff just doesn't really suit her unless the situation really arises.

"We're gonna find her, Jane. I know we will."

"…that's what I'm worried about," she admits, causing me to frown in worry. When she notices my staring, she clears her throat and goes on. "That we're gonna end up finding her carved up into tiny pieces, or devoured by walkers or full of bullet holes. I can't help but feel that I'm gonna find her and none of this is even gonna matter."

Secretly, that's actually what I'm worried about, too. The three of us have had pretty shitty experiences when it comes to strangers, with half of them trying to kill us and the other half trying to torture us. You only need to look at Jane's hand to see the extent of what they've done to us.

And it doesn't exactly help that neither of us are too sure about this new batch of people that we're dealing with.

"What do you want to do?" Jane questions, glancing back down at me. I hope I'm not always this much shorter than her… "If there's a chance to rescue Lilly, then I've got to take it no matter what. But do you think they're trustworthy? They haven't given us much to go on, and then we've still got someone else here to worry about…"

"Maybe we should bring Kazuki – "

"That's… not really who I was talking about," Jane remarks as realization hits me like a wall of bricks. "James still hasn't woken up yet, and who knows what'll happen when he does? I'm thinking… maybe you should sit this one out."

"Jane, that's not happening! I can't let you go out there alone!" I insist, not liking the idea of all three of us being separated from one another once again. It was bad enough the first time around – I'd rather not repeat the process so soon.

But, as per usual, Jane's set in her ways.

"We need to have someone here with a level head in case shit hits the fan," Jane advises, placing a hand on my shoulder as she gives it a light squeeze. "I can handle walkers just fine, but I don't have the patience to deal with people like Racheal in there. If she tries anything, we need a leader to set things straight around here. Please, Clem?"

Not bothering to hide the fact that I'm slightly proud of the compliment on my leadership skills, I sigh and reluctantly nod as she smirks back at me.

However, that thing about _having a level head_ might be a bit… premature. I'm not so sure that description qualifies for me anymore.

"I'll be back before you know it, Commander Clementine," she nicknames me as I chuckle a little bit.

"Just make sure you're back in one piece, sis," I tell her; wrapping my arms around her shoulders even though I know she'll tense up… every single time. "Just be safe… and bring Lilly back to us."

…..

Walking back through the double doors, I close my eyes and lean back against the wall; trying to collect my thoughts and just breathe for a moment. That's all I want – just a little moment to myself every now and again. Is that too much of me to ask? I'd like to think that it's not, but lately that's been a luxury that I haven't been able to afford.

So, when the opportunity presents itself, I like to capitalize on it and savour each precious moment of silence.

"I think you need to change your tactics – they're not working."

Son of a bitch… really? Not even _five seconds _of alone time?!

Letting out an aggravated sigh, I turn towards Racheal, who's eyeing me like a hawk from her position on the second level. "What are you saying this time? Criticizing my every move is getting _really _annoying, you know."

"Agreeing to send them out there on their own like that is a mistake you can't afford," she continues, as if she didn't even register my voice at all. "Going out on a wild goose chase for a dead girl is a massive waste of time."

"Lilly's more durable than you might think. They'll find her, you'll see."

"And when they come up short? What then?" she pressures me, trying to make me see things from her perspective. "Your friend, what's her name… Jane? I saw the way she reacted when they took Lilly away – recklessness. That gets you killed in no time at all, and sending _her _instead of _you _was definitely not a smart move."

"If we did things _your _way," I point out with scorn, "then we'd be sitting around on our asses doing absolutely nothing. I'm not willing to leave Lilly behind! She's my friend, and I'm not abandoning her!"

Shaking her head, Racheal puts one arm over her knee as she rolls her eyes. "This is why you don't put fucking kids in charge of things… They've got no idea what they're doing."

Feeling a bit of loathing towards this woman, I clench my fists tightly and restrain myself from doing what the voices are telling me – pulling out a gun and shooting her on site. A small part of me actually feels like listening to Carver and Troy for once, but I have to control myself before I end up screwing everything that we've worked so hard for.

Besides, there are alternative means of getting payback than resorting to just violence all the time. Take notes, Lilly.

"At least my group isn't living in a shit-hole like this," I remark, internally smirking after I know that I've struck a nerve. I know that they technically don't have a leader of their own, but it's still enough to drive her nuts. "I mean really? A beaten-up grocery store is the best you could do? Geez, will you ever be surprised when you come on over to the space centre! You'll be super jealous when you see our set-up back home."

Not saying anything, Racheal climbs down the balcony with ease before presenting herself right in front of me; folding her arms together as she taps her foot absentmindedly.

"You're not like the others, I can see that much. But you're still _young_ – you don't know how to make these decisions on your own just yet," she remarks, not with hostility but with a hint of wisdom behind her words. "I'm not trying to put you down, but you still have a bunch to learn about how things work out here. The group should be your utmost, number one priority at all times – you need to put the group's needs ahead of your own. Focus on the needs of the many, rather than the needs of the few. That's my advice."

Strolling away with her hands in her pockets, I watch as Racheal heads deeper into the grocery store to check and make sure that everything is in working order; leaving me with quite a lot to ponder over.

Needs of the many… If I followed that advice, then Jane and Lilly likely wouldn't even have stayed with me after their group raided the space centre. I can't just up and abandon my friends in their time of need!

But… maybe I should be putting the group first, before my own personal desires. After all, isn't that what being a leader is supposed to be like?

Sighing, I hold my hat against my side as I too walk away. Maybe alone time isn't quite what I need after all.


	7. The hand that feeds

"…_Jane?"_

"_Ugh…" I audibly groan, utterly annoyed by my little sisters incessant whining that's gone on tonight. "Would you just shut up and leave me alone, Jaime?! Seriously – this is the third time within… a fucking hour!"_

"_But I – "_

"_Yeah, I get it, already! Can't sleep!" I hiss, having to whisper since Mom and Dad are in the next room over. One more outburst from me, and I'm pretty much done here. I end up startling the girl as I twirl about in my little office chair. "Christ, you're fifteen years old! Why don't you start acting like it for once and stop bothering me with all your problems?!"_

_Her eyes are downcast as she looks ready to burst into tears; most likely due to a combination of fear and tiredness. With the way that she's been acting lately, I wouldn't be surprised if she was bawling over breaking a fucking pencil._

"_Can't I just sleep in your bed tonight?" she pleads with me, already having one foot in the door in case I try to slam it right in her face. "Please, Jane? I won't bother you for a whole week, I swear!"_

"_No."_

"_But I just wanted to – "_

"_OUT. Now, Jaime," I snap, getting extremely frustrated at my little sister as I turn back to focus on my homework. "This shitty paper's due tomorrow morning, and I've barely even started it. Now stop talking to me, and leave me alone."_

_Pouting her lip, Jaime storms off while muttering something about me being a lonely, angry bitch or something like that – pretty vulgar coming out of her, but I'm guessing that part of that is my fault out of anyone's. _

_She's also gotten her occasional drinking habits from yours truly as well, but we'll just keep that between us, alright? Besides, it's not as if it takes much – the couple times that I caught her, all Jaime had had was like one glass of wine, and she was out like a light. I'd never seen her sleep so well before._

_Getting ready to pull my hair out, I angrily toss the pen against the wall as I spin in the seat. This is so hopeless, and it's getting absolutely nowhere. Who the fuck cares about civil war history anyways? It's not as if it makes a difference now! What good is a musket, a stupid, blue coat and a puffy, powdered wig these days?! They'd probably laugh at you or lock you up somewhere nice and cozy if you were to try something like that…_

_Glancing at the clock that reads "2:30 AM", I continue to stare at it for a solid minute before my eyes slowly start to flutter closed. Immediately shaking my head and refusing to fall back asleep, I groan as I glare at the paper. This is fucking bullshit – not even off the first god damn page yet! What is even the point of this thing?!_

"…_screw it," I say to myself, stepping away from the desk and quietly making my way out to the hallway; careful to open the door quickly so that it doesn't creak for too long. This house is getting pretty old by this neighbourhood's standards._

_A part of me feels slightly guilty as I see Jaime through the small crack in her doorway; her head buried in the pillow as she tosses and turns. I kind of want to ask if she'd like to come downstairs with me, but it's probably best just to leave her be for now. I'd never hear the end of it otherwise – "Oh, Jane! Did you hear about this nerdy guy that asked me out the other day?! I felt bad about saying no, so I'm going on a date with him this Friday! SQUEEEEEE!"_

_Yes, I realize that that was a horrible impersonation, but you get the gist of it. Jaime's a teenager now. Whoop-dee-doo. _

_Tip-toeing down the staircase, I shiver as my feet finally reach the tile floor below. Now let's see here… what would be good for a pick-me-up at this late hour? Cola? No, I've had enough of that for a while… Hmm, what about… bananas? Yeah right, as if a bunch of bananas are going to keep me awake for pulling an all-nighter!_

_No, I need something with zest… something that's gonna assault my taste buds and help me reduce the stress of writing this thing. Something like – _

_Oh, hello! Come to Jane, baby!_

_Checking over both of my shoulders to make absolutely certain nobody's watching me, I grab a small flashlight off the top of the fridge and shine it over to Mom and Dad's liquor cabinet. I'm sure they won't even notice one bottle missing – besides, it's going towards a great cause:_

_My academic success!_

_Scrolling through the various selections, I shrivel my nose up in distaste at some of the names. Pinot Grigio, Red Wine, Bacardi? This is all shit that my grandmother would drink! Where's all the good stuff at? _

_I'm about to call it a night and just accept the fact that nothing's gonna keep me from getting an F on tomorrow's assignment, when all of a sudden another brand catches my eye. Sitting in the back collecting dust is a decently-sized bottle of liquor with an orange label and some yummy-looking liquid inside of it. "Earthquake", huh? Sounds kind of dumb, but sure, I'll give it a shot._

_Holding the bottle underneath my arm, I struggle to get the stupid thing open as I try twisting and turning the cap open. When I immediately realize that there's a cork at the top and that our corkscrew got busted last week, I quietly groan under my breath. This is gonna take some good old-fashioned knife work, right here._

_Grabbing the kitchen knife, I delicately shimmy it underneath the side of the cork as I move it back and forth. This shouldn't be too difficult – just a few more moves and… pow, there we go!_

_Not bothering to grab a cup, I debate bringing this up to my room in order to finish my homework in relaxation. However, not wanting to get caught drinking at eighteen years old, I shake that thought out of my head and take the first swig. Down the hatch it goes; at first burning my senses with the new flavour, but once I force myself to take another couple of sips, the alcohol actually doesn't seem too bad. Kind of a sweet-spicy sensation._

"_Down the hatch," I comment, taking another big gulp as the alcohol burns down my throat. This is gonna make my homework sooooo much easier, you just watch!_

…

_After nearly the entire bottle later, I'm definitely feeling the effects of this thing. That buzz in my head feels so nice right now… it's almost as if all of my problems have just flat-out disappeared! No more bullshit homework to worry about, no more fights with the folks, and no more having to worry about being thrown out on my ass! And best of all, I haven't heard Jaime complain to me once for at least an hour now!_

_Isn't life just fantastic? _

_Having to hold myself up against the dining room table, I struggle to balance out my legs when I see them – tiny crystals at the bottom of the bottle! Oh my fucking god, is that sugar candy?!_

_I love me some sugar candy!_

_Immediately deciding that I want to eat those, I chug the rest of the liquid down into my body as I clumsily try to stick my finger in the bottle; flicking it around inside in a desperate attempt to get at them. No such luck, as my hand is much too big to fit in there._

_However, there are always other ways to get what you want in life._

_Not thinking any of this through, I walk over to the cabinet, smash the bottle into a billion pieces all over the dining room floor and hold the tasty-looking crystals in my hand. Stepping on shards of glass and barely feeling a damn thing as some of them cut into my feet, I look upon the candies with content. I bet these taste like Smarties or M &amp; M's! _

_Holding nothing back, I pop those suckers into my mouth and crunch down; finding it harder to do with how hard the candies are. Still I persist, as I gnash my teeth together and practically shred my mouth to bits with the sharp edges of the crystals._

_This definitely is NOT candy._

"_Oh fuck…" I giggle in a drunken fit, putting a hand to my chin to find that blood is absolutely oozing from my mouth downwards. Well, that's definitely gonna leave a scar in the morning! I want to head back upstairs and act like none of this had ever happened, but my body refuses to move; choosing instead to lay back against the cabinet like a zombie._

_When Jaime blinds me as she switches the lights on, I know that I'm in deep shit._

"_OH MY GOD!" she screeches, rushing over to the phone and immediately dialing 911 as she bends down towards me with tears in her eyes. "H-hello? I… I need an ambulance at 45 Crescent Avenue! Ple-please hurry… my sister, I… I think she might be… d-dying…"_

_**I ain't dying, dummy, **__is what I want to say to her, but all that comes out is a garbled mess. Mom and Dad bolt it down the stairs soon after; wondering what the hell is going on._

_As the hours pass and my stomach is pumped as my mouth is stitched up, it doesn't take long for me to realize that I'm done. Finished. I'm getting kicked out of the house, with nobody to look to for guidance except myself, and absolutely nowhere to go to._

_For the first time in my life, I'm truly alone._

"You still following us, or what?"

Detracted from my hazy memories of that life-changing night (and not the good kind of life change), I look ahead to find Zayne and Emily a good distance out in front of me. Clearly I need to get out of my own head – too much thinking about my old life has gotten me distracted.

"Just gimme a sec," I holler, kicking some mud off my boot as I pick up the pace and catch up to the two strangers. I'm still getting used to being around _Ellie_, for crying out loud, so you can bet that these two are in my "untrustworthy" book for right now.

"Are you feeling alright?" Emily asks me suddenly. "'Cause to me, you looked a little lost back there."

Grr… why can't these people mind their own damn business?! Don't they know it's rude to pry and stick your nose where it doesn't belong?!

"I'm fine," I shrug off icily, "just got distracted for a second. Won't happen again."

Glancing over at her partner with concern, Emily shrugs her shoulders before glancing straight ahead to keep an eye on the path. "If you say so," she remarks, pulling out a water bottle and taking a sip. When I refuse the offer, Emily keeps holding it firmly out in front of my face. "You need to drink something to keep your strength up, you know. You're no good to us dehydrated," she insists, causing me to roll my eyes before muttering "thanks" and taking a few gulps.

Not watching where it is he's going, Zayne panics as he trips over an arm just laying out in the road, but thankfully the body has been decomposed and _actually dead _for some time now. Checking his leg for any bites just in case the impossible were to happen, Zayne breathes out a sigh of relief as he bounces ahead with a skip in his step.

"Are you really that paranoid?" Emily asks jokingly as Zayne smirks back at her.

"Only when I'm around you!" he answers. "Most of the time I can just relax and be myself, but when you come along? _Oh boy_, gotta watch my every step!"

Picking up an empty soda can and playfully tossing it at the back of Zayne's head, Emily whistles innocently as the two of them enjoy each other's company. Kind of reminds me of what Clem, Lilly and I used to be like back at Houston Hills… but that didn't last very long either. Nothing really lasts in this world any longer; be it the people, the shelters or anything.

Damn… Lilly was right. I _am _getting to be a depressing load.

"I hope you're right about this," I comment, breaking my silence as I put my hands in my pockets. "She better be there…"

"We can't guarantee anything. You do realize that, don't you?" Emily asks me, causing me to dart my gaze in her direction. "To be fair, we haven't actually been to this place in over a year. Who knows what might be inside now?"

"If we don't find her," Zayne adds, "what are you gonna do?"

"Track them the fuck down, obviously! I'll go out all night if I have to!" I reply with annoyance.

Not liking that idea, Emily tries to persuade me to come back with them if things don't work out, but I immediately shut that notion down.

"Don't try and stop me – I'm going with or without you."

"You've got no idea where you even are _right now! _How are you supposed to track anyone down, especially in the dark?" she questions my course of action. "Look, I'm not saying that we're not gonna go look for her – Racheal can't make that call. But just be smart about it, alright? Like you said before, we've got a common enemy out there. No sense in trying to fight with us when we're both after the same thing."

Lowering my head slightly, I frown at the ground as I kick the dirt up with my boots. This girl doesn't understand – neither of these two do, not really. "We're not after the same thing…" I angrily mutter. "Not even a little bit…"

Wisely choosing to drop the conversation, Emily and Zayne turn their attention back towards each other; talking amongst themselves as I delve back into my thoughts. I've had quite a bit of time for reflection over the past few weeks, and I've gotta say that my progress has largely been… a conundrum. On the one hand, I've firmly established my relationship with both Clem and Lilly, and for once I actually don't want to go out on my own. I can see the benefits of travelling with a small group of people that you can actually trust, and being with those two has given me a much-needed sense of comfort.

_However_, my actions recently have left me more than a little bit concerned. The blow-ups, the anger, the lashing out… It's starting to get out of hand. At first I thought that maybe it just had to do with me being worried about Lilly, but this has been going on long before then. On more than one instance have I had the urge to just pull out my gun and shoot somebody just because they looked at me funny – something that I would never have done in… well, ever.

If not for my own sake, then I'm going to have to work on this for Lilly and Clem – the latter especially. Jesus, I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Clementine sticking her neck out for me back at that fucking rest stop. Why she chose to save my life I still don't know, and probably never will.

"Looks like that's it up ahead," Zayne comments, nodding in confirmation as we get a little bit closer.

They really weren't kidding – this place looks like a dump. No buildings around except for one of those temporary offices for the foreman to work in, and there are still various heavy-duty machines just sitting around ripe for the taking. If it comes down to it, maybe I could jumpstart one of these babies and get out on the road. Lilly showed me a thing or two about how to hotwire a vehicle (don't ask), so this might be a golden opportunity. A bulldozer might not be very fast, but who the hell is gonna stop me with one of those?

Sure enough, there's a massive hole in the ground where all of the construction was taking place – with various concrete pillars sticking upwards, a small elevator-type thing for going up and down, and a whole bunch of dead construction workers sprawled out on the ground.

Zayne picks up three hardhats from a nearby coat rack and tosses two of them our way.

"Seriously?" I question watching as they both put them on and knock on the plastic with their knuckles.

"Safety first," Emily chirps, but frowning when she looks at the prospects of this place. "Damn… this looks a lot different from the last time we were here. Anything you remember, Zayne?"

As he pulls out a pistol for precaution, Emily and I both do the same as I reluctantly put the stupid helmet on top of my noggin. The thing actually doesn't feel quite as uncomfortable as I had imagined it would, but I still don't look that great in a yellow construction hat… not that I really care, or anything.

"There'd usually be one guy up on the crane for lookout duty," Zayne explains, pointing upwards at the massive piece of machinery equipment. "Looks empty right now, though. We've gotta be careful around here. Who knows? They might just be trying to get the jump on us."

"Aye, let's just take this nice and slow."

Checking my corners and holding onto my weapon with both hands, I try to keep myself calm and collected – if Lilly really is here, then I need to spend all of my concentration on getting her out.

If I can't kill the bastards who took her, then I at least can make sure that Lilly's back home safe and sound.

_**Clem's POV **_

"_Oshiete, oshiete boku… no naka ni dare ga iru no?"_

Frowning in confusion, I slowly unlock the door to Kazuki's interrogation room and poke my head inside; watching as she looks down at the table in embarrassment.

"Were you… singing?" I ask quietly, unsure if that's what I was hearing or not. She's got a pretty nice voice, I'll give her that much at least – despite my anger about her and her group kidnapping my friends.

Nodding her head sheepishly, Kazuki drums her fingers to the beat as she refuses to make eye contact. "It's, uh… my favourite song, actually. _Unravel _by _Tokyo Ghoul_…" she quietly murmurs, putting a strand of hair back behind her ear. This kid seems pretty self-conscious, I've gotta say. "Just, you know… it gets kind of boring in here with… with nobody to talk to…"

Well I'll be damned – Kazuki's a person just like the rest of us. I mean, obviously I knew that, but it's just odd thinking that people on both sides have their own personalities, fears and insecurities in life.

Deep down, despite our alliances and goals that we might have, really we're all the same.

"I used to draw stuff when I got bored," I admit, watching as her eye lights up in interest. "Every day after school, I'd go up in my treehouse and draw whatever I felt like. It'd keep me busy for hours at a time, and I never really got sick of it. But… I don't really do that kind of stuff anymore…"

"Why not?" she asks me curiously. Shrugging my shoulders, I slouch back in my chair as I tiredly rub my eyes.

"Grew out of it a little bit, I guess," I tell her, despite remembering that time that I was up with Jane in the treehouse back in Atlanta. "There was no more time for kids' stuff – I had to grow up pretty quickly. We all did, really. There wasn't any room left for drawing when you were running for your life."

Rubbing her wrists tenderly, Kazuki bites her lip as she tries to figure out how to respond to that. Deep down she knows that I'm right – I can see it all over her face. But for some reason, she still tries to believe that things might get back to normal.

I used to think that too… once.

"At least you're still alive," she points out, "a lot of people can't say the same thing. Most people have gotten killed already… but at least you've still got a life to look forward to."

Frowning deeply, I shake my head in firm disagreement. I admire her optimism, but the fact of the matter is that this world is a piece of shit, and we're all just trying to get by out here. How she could think like that with her eye all destroyed is beyond me completely.

"We aren't living – not anymore. You can't call this shit living, Kazuki," I tell her, watching as she stares at me; dumbfounded that I'm so opposed to the idea. "No, we've all been dead for years now. The only difference is that we're still walking around with our heads on our shoulders and something worth fighting for in our hearts."

Standing up to leave, I sigh deeply and close my eyes as my hand lingers on the door handle. I need to make this point absolutely clear – holding out hope for something like this is just asking for trouble.

Wanna know what the really sad part about this is though? I'm supposed to be the one person who _hasn't _given up hope for a better future just yet. Saying this as the leader of the Fireflies might just break our spirit for good.

At least nobody else is around to hear me voice my inner thoughts.

"In this world," I whisper, opening the door and turning my head back to Kazuki for a moment, "we are the walking dead."

_**Lilly's POV **_

"_Is this thing on? Sound, audio, everything?"_

"_Should be, Trace. Everything's set and ready to go."_

"_Good," _she smirks into the camera, waving at me from the other side. _"I want her to see absolutely EVERYTHING."_

Barely able to move off of the floor, I wince as I try to sit up; failing to do so as I collapse once again. Alden opens up my door and bends down beside me; ushering me to try my best not to be held down like this.

"You can't show them weakness…" he tells me as he tries to lift my head up. "Don't let them break your spirit… it's what they want to happen to you."

"What… do they care…?"

"It'll just give them all the more excuse to humiliate and hurt you," he explains, pulling out a squished granola bar and holding it out to me. "Look… they're telling us not to feed you _anything_. Do you get that? The longer you're here, the worse it's gonna be for you. The group is trying to _starve you_ _out _– take this while you can."

"…are they… going to kill Bo?" I ask, taking the granola and chewing on it after realizing that he's probably right.

But I won't let them win! They will _not _break me!

"I want to believe in you… that you'll pull through and that things are gonna work out just fine," he says, dodging my previous question. "…but I'm not holding out much hope. Hoping for things just leads you to massive disappointment."

"Alden… answer me!" I tiredly exclaim, watching through the monitor as a bunch of people pin Bo to the floor. It's difficult to see because the screen is so shitty, but I'm certain that there's fear in his eyes as he struggles underneath their combined weight.

"Tracy can be a cold, heartless bitch at times," Alden says, keeping his voice down in case anybody can hear him, "but she's not completely unreasonable. She just wants what's best for her people… even if it means harming someone else in the process. No… it's Joshua that you've gotta watch out for."

"_Alden! Answer me right fucking now!"_

"No, alright?! They're not going to kill him…" he finally answers, causing me to ease up a little bit. However, my expression grows worried again when Alden lowers his gaze to the ground. "…but they might as well be shooting him with what's coming next…"

Forcing myself to roll over onto my stomach and fully face the security camera screen, I shout out in a desperate plea for them to stop as Joshua comes over with a big, old meat cleaver.

"_FUCKING ASSHOLES! KILL __**ME**__! NOT HIM! ME!" _I scream, feeling unusually protective over the guy even though I barely know him. Out here though, in hostile territory, he's practically my best friend.

"Jesus Christ…" Alden mutters under his breath, choosing to turn away as the group lays one of his arms flat on the floor.

"_This is a message…" _Tracy remarks for all to hear; watching as Josh lines up the meat cleaver against Bo's left wrist. _"You don't play by our rules, and you're gonna end up dead. This isn't a game anymore…"_

With a sickening smile, Joshua raises the cleaver and slices right through Bo's wrist; cutting his hand clean off as the blood squirts onto his shirt and Bo screams in absolute agony.


	8. Diary of Jane

"Did you check absolutely everywhere? Every nook and cranny? We aren't leaving until we've picked this place apart clean!"

"Jane, there's nothing around here," Emily complains, looking exhausted as she and Zayne lean up against a concrete cylinder to take a break. "And unless you wanted to jump into that big-ass hole, there aren't any other places she could be! Just… just give it a rest…"

Feeling miffed that they're willing to give up so easily after a mere two hours of searching, I lightly kick over a pylon before starting off on my own. There's no way that we've looked through this entire place already! Lilly's gotta be here, damn it – and I'm not gonna stop searching until I find her!

I try to block out the sounds of their annoyed groans as I start walking away. "Jane, wait! You're being irrational here!" Emily tells me, but I tune out her voice as I take my sister's old nail file and get to work on getting this lock undone on the office building. It'll take some time, but it's worth it – it has to be. "Would you stop screwing around already and get back over here?! This place is a dead end!"

"If all you two are gonna do is bitch at me," I comment, trying to have as delicate hands as possible for this to work, "then why don't you save yourselves the trouble and go home? I don't need the attitude! If you don't want to help, then just get out of the way!"

"Hey now!" Zayne responds with indignity. "We were the ones who helped get you here in the first place! If we didn't help you get here, then you wouldn't have even had a lead to where your stupid girlfriend might… be…"

Stopping when I give him a sharp glare, Zayne gulps and looks back down at his feet.

That's what I thought, asshole…

Being careful not to break the nail file, I resume shimmying the object back and forth into the keyhole. This thing's a lot sturdier than the ones that I'm used to, but I can proudly say that I'm pretty much an expert at picking locks by now.

Heh, not exactly what you'd want to put on a resume or anything, but what can you do?

"Come on, you…" I encourage, as if that's actually going to persuade the lock to open faster. When the rusting, metal object actually does click open, I smirk in success as I slowly open the door and peer inside. "Jackpot…" I whisper, getting discouraged when Lilly is nowhere to be seen, but at least thankful for some supplies inside the office. "Come check this out!"

Sitting in the corner of the room is a twenty-four pack of water bottles, a fully-loaded magnum with more cartridges stashed away in one of the filing cabinets, and some leftover handy stuff such as nails, hammers and screwdrivers. While all of this stuff can be really useful, none of it really matters to me in the grand scheme of things.

If she's not in here, then where the hell else could they have taken her?

Whistling in astonishment, Emily and Zayne walk into the room behind me as they marvel at the supply cache we've discovered. "Man, you weren't kidding about this! Just what we needed!" Emily praises, patting me on the back as she scoops up the pack of water bottles in her arms. "Nice find, Jane. I think you've got the golden touch for finding stuff we need."

"Yeah, like King Midas!" Zayne adds with a slight chuckle; grabbing a bucket of hammers and nails as I place the revolver safely into my back pocket. I'd rather have the golden touch for finding _people_, but clearly that's not the case.

Not saying anything, I curiously gaze over to the desk where the blueprints for this construction site are situated. There are various schematics for how to build all the shit they were going to, but the thing that intrigues me more is the situation they've got going for the underground part.

Pointing my finger and tapping on the little map they have, I turn to address my temporary comrades; clearly not looking forward to what I'm about to suggest. "That's the only place we haven't checked yet," I reemphasize, having my decision already set in stone. "So that's where I'm going. If there's a chance that we could find something – anything at all to tell us where she might be – then I need to go. You guys can take off if you really don't feel like staying. I can find my own way back."

"You know, as much fun as that sounds, I think I'm gonna have to go with no," sighs Emily as she cuts the pack open and starts chucking water bottles into her bag. She doesn't have enough room for all twenty-four of them, so she places the remaining few into Zayne's bag.

"Yeah," he comments, though not looking too inclined to staying here any longer than he needs to. "Besides, I think – what's her name, Clementine? I'm pretty sure she'd kill us if we came back without you. Literally."

Snorting softly to myself, I shake my head in disagreement. Just trying to picture Clem as a vicious little monster is just too funny to take seriously. Clem? A killer? Come on, now!

…although, that time back when Lilly and I first got to the space centre still rings a bell…

"Clem's one of the most down-to-earth people I know. You wouldn't need to worry about her," I chuckle again, just finding the concept funny for some reason. Swinging a small duffel bag over my shoulder, I start to head back outside towards whatever means we can use to get down.

"I hope you're right about that…" Emily mumbles, causing me to get slightly annoyed. I've got a bit of a soft spot for Clem, so to hear people question her really seems to grind my gears. "What's the deal there, anyways? I mean, she's _really _in charge?"

"Yes."

"Like, _really _really?"

"What is your god damn issue here?" I harshly ask, whipping my head back towards them with a scowl. "Yeah, she's twelve! I get it, okay?! Quit beating the dead horse and move on already!"

"Okay, okay! Sorry… forget I asked…" Emily replies glumly, staring down at her shoes while I turn away.

With that, I simply hold my gun at my side and proceed over to the hole in silence; watching as the sky turns a brilliant orange and red. It's almost like somebody just took a jar of paint and just took brush strokes all across the horizon, and I've got to say that I've really seen nothing like it before. I just wish that I had somebody to share it with right now…

Choosing to climb out of the depressed, self-absorbed hole I've dug myself into, I simply shake it off and walk over to some kind of elevator-looking thing for getting downwards.

"Looks like that's our ticket," I comment, scratching my chin until I come face to face with a large, enclosed motor nearby. "I'm guessing this thing must charge up like a lawn mower or something. Anybody know a thing or two about these kinds of things?"

When both of them shrug their shoulders, I bite my lip before tinkering around a little bit.

Please don't blow up on me!

"Come on, you stupid thing," I mutter, pressing a random assortment of buttons with no success. I hear _something _clicking inside when I press the buttons, but clearly there's something else you need to do first in order to get it to work properly. "Hmm… maybe…" I cut myself off, grabbing onto a cable of some kind and lightly yanking it backwards a little bit.

When something whirls inside of the motor, I grin slightly and stand up to get into a better position.

With enough force and two more pulls backwards, the engine roars to life loudly as the three of us see the elevator buckle and shake slightly. That's definitely not a reassuring sign, but I've got no choice. If Lilly's not here, then I have absolutely no clue where she could possibly be. This is my first and last stop on the tour.

"Looks like somebody has to operate the controls…" Emily explains with a frown. Well, that certainly puts a damper on our plans – good thing that they didn't decide to leave after all. "…I'll do it. Zayne, don't even start – I ain't letting you stay up here alone, and you know this place a lot better than me anyways. And Jane?" she adds, sternly looking over at me as I wobble a little bit on the mechanical lift. "You bring him back to me, understand? The both of you better be back up here when you're finished, or you might as well not come back at all."

"No need for the death threats, alright?" I calmly tell her, unfortunately used to this kind of thing by now. "Nothing's gonna happen to us. We'll be fine."

"Umm… did anyone happen to notice that guy up on one of the construction cranes?" Zayne asks nervously, pointing towards the tall structure as, sure enough, a person is just standing there; completely still with a rifle just leaning up against the railing. "HEY THERE! HELLO? ARE YOU FRIENDLY?! WE NEED HEL-"

"Zayne, shut up!" I hiss, putting a hand over his mouth as I glance nervously up at the figure. Why isn't he moving around or anything? He's too far away to tell if he can see us or not, but I for one don't want to find out. "Are you trying to get us all killed?! What part of _stealth operation _was confusing?!"

"Umm… the stealth part?"

Nearly smacking myself on the forehead, I wait for the kid to get on the lift as Emily presses a button to lower the device. The thing shakes constantly as it starts to take us downwards, and it feels as though this thing hasn't been used in years with how much the metal seems to scrape together. It's almost like the entire thing could collapse at any moment.

"Stay safe down there!" Emily yells at us over the loud, mechanical noises. "When you're finished, just try yelling real loudly , okay?! I'll take you back up!"

_Yeah, as if that's not gonna cause any problems, _I bitterly think to myself, leaning one elbow over the railing as the colours around us grow darker. Nobody's really sure how deep this thing is going to take us, but I'd imagine that it wouldn't be too bad. I mean, it's not like they were trying to dig a tunnel to the centre of the earth here, right?

"You're really worried about her, huh?"

Blinking, I silently nod as I continue to stare out into space. I really don't feel like having to explain myself today.

Of course, though, this kid just _has _to know every single little detail about my life. How typical.

"So, umm… do you like, have any family around?" Zayne questions, causing me to tense up a little bit. Going back and remembering Jaime and the folks always leaves me a little bitter and sore – mostly sore, now that my resentment for being kicked out has largely dissipated. It's not as if I really forgave them for throwing me aside like a piece of trash… but I can sort of see why they did what they did. As Clementine once pointed out, I was a pretty bad kid back then.

Not feeling like revealing my whole past to this nosy kid, I shrug my shoulders and tell it to him straight.

"Lilly and Clementine are my family."

"Oh," he acknowledges with a nod, "are you guys like… related or something?"

"You don't have to be blood-related in order to be a family," I explain to him honestly, finding nothing out of place with calling Clem my little adopted sister and Lilly my lifelong partner. I didn't think I'd ever be able to connect with two people on that kind of level, and yet there it is. "What about you?" I ask, noticing how he's grown a bit quiet after that. "Got any people like that in your life? Parents, siblings, close friends, anything?"

Looking slightly downcast at the mention of "siblings", I hear Zayne sigh heavily as the both of us grasp onto the railing after another rough shake. I swear this thing's gonna give me a panic attack.

"My parents died a little while after I was born, so my two older brothers took care of me for most of my life. They were twins," he explains; a pained expression on his face as he recalls what happened to them. "There were five of us in all – me, Liam, Harry, Louis and Niall. Louis got split off from the rest of us when this first started… got cornered by a pack of roamers with no guns or anything… Niall tried to … _do _things… to a girl around my age after he saw what people were becoming. Harry took him out back and gave him a choice – leave the family or die. Niall just took the easy way out after he saw what he did; what he was becoming…"

Chucking a stone off the dirt wall, Zayne puts his hands in his pockets as we finally reach the bottom of the hole; hearing the motor shut off and yelling up to Emily that we're both still alive and well.

As I take the lead out in front, Zayne continues his story as he switches on the only working flashlight we've got.

"Liam and Harry were the twins," he explains, shining the light over some barrels of some sort. There's a decaying skeleton with a hardhat still on its head that's just sitting there right beside the rest of the barrels; almost as if it's just watching the world go by. "The three of us were living in Oklahoma City at the time, but people there went absolutely bat-shit crazy. Bandits took over almost every single government-type building and drove out anyone who didn't agree with their ways. People started forming gangs and fighting over territory; straight-up murdering people out in the streets… Harry got knifed by some thug that wanted our food. Liam practically beat the guy with his bare hands as Harry… bled out. There wasn't anything we could do…"

Not wanting to interrupt anything, I silently open up one of the barrel lids and have a peek inside. Nothing but dried-up cement in here… that's completely covering a flashlight. Shit!

Alright, don't get me wrong – I do feel bad for this kid, and I'm not just brushing his problems aside. But honestly, that kind of stuff just happens to every single person who's managed to survive thus far. Everyone. Nobody's been untouched by this thing – every single survivor I've ever come across has lost somebody important to them, and each backstory is just as depressing as the last.

Hopefully this whole "Firefly" idea will actually be able to pull off the impossible. If it's true about what they said, that they're looking for a cure… then maybe it's not too farfetched to think that things might be different. No more sadness, no more losing people as they drop off like flies.

Who could say no to that?

"After that, Liam and I came further south down to Houston. That's when we met Tracy and the rest," he elaborates with distaste. "They were fucking monsters, all of them! We thought they might've been different from those rapist bastards back in Oklahoma, but… but no! Liam tried to get the both of us out of there, but they caught us and… and…"

"Hey, it's alright," I say to him gently, not wanting any waterworks to start after he's practically dumped his entire past out in the open. "You don't have to go on if you don't want to. I get it – they… forget I said anything."

"…they force-fed Liam an entire bottle of pain killers… Joshua held his hair back when Tracy dumped it down his throat…" Zayne goes on maliciously, kicking the dirt wall in anger. Holy shit, I've gotta say that I really hadn't expected to hear something like that. I was thinking more along the lines of just shooting him and being done with it, but that… that is some messed up shit going on right there.

Choosing not to say anything in case I upset him somehow (remember the whole Rebecca fiasco?), I sigh when we come across yet another dud in our search. It's practically pitch-black down here, with nothing but fallen rocks from the surface and a few rotting bodies that I'd prefer to stay as far away from as possible. When Zayne reports that all he's found is dirt, dirt and more dirt, I stand there in the dark for just a moment; trying to absorb all of this information. Lilly's not here… and I've got absolutely no idea where else to look. There's nothing I can do – I can't just pull her like a rabbit out of a hat, and I can't track her down without at least knowing where those trucks headed off to.

Miles in the other direction, by the sounds of things. Angrily, I kick the dirt in hopelessness as my voice echoes off the walls. "God damn it! Why?! What the fuck am I gonna do now?!"

"…maybe we should just head back. Retrace our steps, you know?" Zayne suggests with a shrug of his shoulders. Seeing no other option, I tiredly sigh and practically drag my feet along as I wander after him; lost in my own little world as I cough from the dirt.

Jesus fucking Christ… that's it. I feel like I've failed her. If Lilly were in my shoes and the roles were reversed, I've got absolutely no doubt in my mind that she'd have found out exactly where I was already, and we could've been back at the space centre; all nice and safe. I realize that that's kind of a stretch, but with her resourcefulness, that's just the way that I feel.

Hopping back onto the lift with little to no resolve left, Zayne tiredly bangs on the metal bar and hollers up for Emily to lift them upwards. When no response comes, Zayne yells a little louder, and even louder after the third time.

Nothing. It's almost as if Emily's not even…

"EM?!" Zayne bellows, growing concerned when all the two of us can hear are… growls. Low, menacing growls of the things that we've all more than grown accustomed to at this point.

"Shit, walkers!" I exclaim, frowning in confusion as I pull out my gun and try glancing up to the surface. "But where are they coming from? I don't see any… Oh fuck…"

Like a swarm of locusts, the bodies stumble their way towards the edge of the hole; falling down to the depths as they hungrily look towards us. There's gotta be a couple dozen of them or so at least, and I widen my eyes in worry as they somehow manage to survive the impact – even though their limbs are mostly crushed.

"It's raining fucking walkers! They must've followed our scent!" I say while shooting a dead one right through the skull; it's head exploding in a bloody mess of brain and bone. "Damn it, there's too many of them! They're gonna get right on top of us unless we do something!"

"Can we just shoot our way through?!"

"I'd rather not!" I retort; the only light source now being the blast of my revolver as more of the beasts shamble closer towards us. "Fuck's sakes! We need to get up there! Do you see a fucking staircase or something?! I don't want to die in a hole!"

As Zayne blasts at a walker that managed to sneak up on the left side of me, he fumbles with the flashlight until he can flick it back on once again. Shining it around, he desperately tries to find something useful, and he actually does!

Too bad it's on the other side of the fucking hole.

"There's a ladder directly across from us!" Zayne mentions, pointing to the rickety-looking thing as I look on in scepticism. "But how are we gonna get past these guys?!"

Gritting my teeth, I bash a walker's head in with the side of my weapon as I struggle to catch my breath. There's no way we'll survive at this rate – not with just two people. Bullets aren't a problem this time so much as the fact that Idon't actually_ want to use them_, since we might need all the help that we can get when we arrive at the top.

"We don't have a choice! I'll clear us an opening, you stay on my ass, got it?!" I yell back to him as I shoot one of the walkers in the face. Pulling my knife out of its sheath, I clutch the handle ferociously as I yell out in anticipation. All at once, I charge forward and stab a walker right in the eye; pushing him forward as one of the dead ones bite at my jacket; ripping a piece off but leaving my body thankfully unharmed.

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" I keep repeating as I finally manage to break free and start my run over to the ladder. Having no time to check and make sure that Zayne's still alive, I rip onwards; tripping over a shovel as I crawl on my hands and knees to the first rung.

As I fumble around in the dark for the cool metal of the ladder, my hand suddenly finds something that I didn't expect – somebody's leg.

"Get a move on already!" shouts a new voice, and I stumble in alarm as the woman grabs me by the collar of my jacket and forces me to my feet. "Quickly! Get up the ladder and get the hell out of here!"

"Zayne?!" I holler into the darkness, trying to make heads or tails of where he might be. The flashlight's been turned off yet again, so that's really not helping my chances.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" he wheezes out as I partially see the kid heaving; completely out of breath. When I force him to go up the rusting, rickety ladder first, he whines about possibly being the first to fall straight off, but I've got no time for any of his bullshit right now.

The walkers moan in their undead language as they slowly walk towards us; the only indication of where they are being their hungry moans.

"You next! I'll follow you afterwards!" I yell to the stranger, getting no complaint from them as I randomly shoot a few stray bullets into the darkness. It must've gotten at least _something _since I hear a body collapse on the ground close by, but my nervousness only grows as one f the walkers come within inches of my face.

Struggling not to get bitten, I hold the beast off for dear life as it snaps its jaws mere centimeters away from my cheek. When my strength's about to fail me, and all hope seems lost, all of a sudden a bullet pierces the thing's head as it collapses to the ground with its fallen brothers and sisters. Glancing upwards, all I see is a tuft of short, brown hair hanging loosely in the wind; with the stranger nodding before continuing her climb.

Taking that as my cue, I scramble to climb up the structure as I hear the metal groan under all of our combined weight. This is worse than the time that Jaime and I got stuck on an upside-down roller coaster and had to hang there (upside-down, of course) for a solid fifteen minutes straight before getting pulled back down. Needless to say, I was in the bathroom puking my guts out for a good chunk of the afternoon after that little adventure.

But anyways, I manage to breathe a little bit as I get about three quarters of the way up the ladder; Zayne and the stranger having disappeared out of my view as I climb. Thank god walkers are about as smart as a fucking chair.

"Damn it all to hell… you folks just _had _to bring them on top of us, didn't you?!" the woman asks rhetorically; her words dripping with sarcasm.

"It wasn't us! We were just trying to find our friend!" Zayne insists, surprising me a little bit. Since when did we all become _friends_? I don't think I was there for that meeting.

Shaking my head, I decide to intervene before this lady blows a gasket. "Look, there's no point in arguing over this shit! Okay, we just need help! Have you seen a taller woman? Blonde-brownish hair, probably had a gun on her?" I question, trying to describe Emily as best I can.

When the brown-haired woman just rolls her eyes and randomly starts walking away, I frown and forcefully put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't just fucking walk away from me! I don't take that kind of shit!" I hiss, spinning her around to face me as she glares darkly. "Have you seen our friend or not?! I'm not leaving until I get a god damn answer from you!"

"Oh really?" she questions, shrugging my hand off as she tilts her head to the side. "So first you trespass on my property, then I save both of your worthless lives from them dead ones that _you _brought here, and now you're expecting me to _help you_?! I've got half a mind to toss the both of you back into the hole where you belong! Now shut the fuck up and get off my land!"

"Listen up, you little – "

_HONK! HONK! _

Interrupted by the absolutely obnoxious noise, the three of us turn around to find none other than Emily and some other stranger with red hair tied back into a bun… both riding a bulldozer.

Yeah, I'm being completely serious right now. A motherfucking bulldozer.

"Katie! Get over here! We've got monsters to kill!" shouts the redhead as she stares in shock at the thirteen year old beside me. "Holy shit… Zayne? Is that you?"

Glowering upon recognizing a familiar face, Zayne scowls as he glares harshly at the red-haired woman. "Fuck off, Kelly…" he snaps, clearly wanting nothing to do with her. "What? Did you finally grow a brain and see what Tracy was actually doing to people?! Or did they kick you out after you let Josh beat me with a fucking stick?!"

"I… I didn't think they would go that far…" Kelly admits with a hint of shame in her voice. As she raises the front end of the demolition machine a little bit, she beckons for all of us to hop into the back. "Just… you need to trust me here, alright? I'm not with them anymore, but you have to get in with us! There are more of those things on the way!"

When Emily nods in agreement, Zayne very reluctantly does as was suggested, though refusing to even acknowledge Kelly's existence as he climbs aboard. Katie, the woman beside me, huffs out in annoyance as she practically shoves Emily off the bulldozer and takes the passenger's seat. "Get in the back! Let the experts clean up your fucking mess!" she says simply as the three of us sit there in a silent annoyance. No way is she coming back with us. Nope, not a chance. I can already see how badly this would be going if we were to bring this shithead home, and Zayne doesn't seem to like the other one too much, so it's basically a win-win.

Right?

"Crap… we've got more incoming," Kelly informs us over the roar of the engine. "There's no going around them! What should we do?!"

Taking the clutch and practically forcing Kelly's foot to press down on the gas pedal, we all turn in shock and fear as we try to charge right _through _the walkers; as if we weren't risking our lives enough already.

The claw part of the machine barrels through the walkers like bowling pins; ripping through thick layers of flesh as their blood and guts get absolutely everywhere. The yellow paint on the front of the bulldozer is now absolutely drenched in a dark shade of red, but Katie seems determined to break through their ranks as skulls and limbs are crushed underneath the wheels of this big-ass construction death machine. Any walkers that don't get absolutely ruined are shot at by Emily and I, and by the time that the two women stop the vehicle, the effect has already been shown.

There's literally a trail of red stretching for a good portion across the construction zone.

"Well, that was fun! Who wants to go again?" Katie suggests, getting an annoyed glance from all four of us as we climb off the bulldozer.

…

"…why the fuck would you _want _to find Tracy and the rest of those dick wads?" Kelly questions as she leans up against the fence; crossing her legs and looking apologetically towards Zayne. "They're nothing but a pack of raging lunatics!"

Scoffing, Zayne stamps his foot on the ground as he adjusts the straps of his bag over top of his shoulders; already getting ready to leave. "I can't believe a damn word you say anymore…"

"Look, Zayne… I know that I messed up pretty badly beforehand, and… I'm so sorry about your brother…" she apologizes, though I'm having a hard time believing that she's being sincere. This just reeks of another Bonnie type of situation, and no – it's not because of the red hair. "But I've tried to put all of that stuff behind me. If it helps, I finally realized that joining up with them was a mistake. I was with the wrong crowd of people, and I've changed. Really, I have – I've tried turning over a new leaf, Zayne."

Not saying anymore, Zayne simply huffs and stares at the ground; rolling a stone back and forth with his shoe as Emily and I try to get out any information that we can from these two. It was established a while back that they had no intention of leaving this place behind, even after all of the racket and ruckus that we managed to cause.

I suppose that you've got to be pretty persistent to live in a rat-hole like this.

"Some friends of ours got taken by Tracy's group – a man and a woman. Do you have any idea where they might be? Where they might've gone off to?" I hammer away, not wanting to waste my time with introductions or anything as Katie shrugs her shoulders.

"Kelly left those punks in the dust – smartened up and started hanging out with me," she says with a smirk; patting her friend roughly on the shoulder as Kelly scratches her chin in thought.

"Is there anything actually _useful _you might be able to tell me?" I infringe with an annoyed tone. "Look, either you know something, or you don't. It's not hard to pick – it's either _yes _or _no_. I need to find Lilly before they can manage to do anything else to her!"

"Chill out a little bit, would ya? It's like you've got a giant stick up your ass or something, seriously…" Katie rolls her eyes, causing me to purposely avoid eye contact with her in case I try something stupid. I've had a pretty shitty past couple of days, and I definitely don't want to deal with another type-A asshole with a big mouth. "Kelly, didn't you say something about… some kind of mall?"

Wracking her brain for anything that might be able to help us, Kelly massages her temples as I grow increasingly impatient. I honest to god think that if somehow I manage to survive up to a ripe, old age, that'll still get cut off by about five years or so just from the stress and anxiety of the past few months. I'm pretty sure that everything started to get turned upside-down around the time that Lilly and I got separated from Clem back at Houston Hills. Since then, practically everything has been one giant shit-show after the other, with a few notable exceptions thrown in here or there.

So please try to forgive my moodiness when one of the only people who was keeping me sane has gotten kidnapped and possibly already killed.

"Yeah… an outlet mall, I think they said that's where they were headed…" Kelly says quietly, trying (with great difficulty it would seem) to recall what was said. "I think Josh mentioned it once… Damn, was it… Ranger's Outlet Mall? Or was it Renegade? Shit, I can't remember which… but it was something along those lines. Sorry I can't really be more of a help than that."

"We appreciate it," Emily steps in, obviously before I can say something to get us in deep trouble. "And… you're absolutely sure that you two won't come with us? We've got enough room back at the store if you wanted!"

"I thought you said that you barely had _any _room! That's what your people were saying beforehand!" I point out with a forlorn expression on my face. Those lying bastards!

Ignoring me completely, Emily asks them again if they'll change their minds, but they insist that they've got a good enough setup going right where they are. They've kept this place going this long, so they might as well put it to good use.

"If you ever change your minds, or need somewhere to stay, then you'll know where to find us – either at Mill's Grocery or the Houston Space Centre," Emily reaffirms, reminding me of the deal that Clementine had set up earlier on. I've been so preoccupied with searching for Lilly that I completely forgot about the whole exchange.

As the two of us turn to leave, we glance ahead and see that Zayne has already started back down the path; which really seems to disappoint Kelly. I wonder if they were ever able to see eye to eye back when they were both in Tracy's camp – kind of seems like a shame that their friendship would be ruined now.

"Ever heard of a place like that?" I question as I walk beside Emily. "Rangers or Renegade… that's not a whole lot to go on."

"Racheal might know but I wouldn't hold out much hope – none of us really lived around Houston before the dead started coming back to life," she admits, patting my shoulder in a friendly way as I sternly look ahead. "Don't worry about it, Jane. No matter where they are, we're gonna find your friends."

"I've been telling myself that for the past two days now," I explain with a sigh. "Words don't mean anything if I can't actually back them up."

Despite my negative outlook on all of this… at least we've actually got _something_ to go on this time around. A name is better than absolutely nothing.

Maybe I won't be so in the dark this time around.

…

_**Clem's POV **_

Biting my fingernail in anxiousness, I pace out in the hallway back and forth; stepping over the same tiles so much that it feels like I'm about to tear a hole in the floor. Racheal informed me earlier that James had finally woken up after getting his ass handed to him, and I'm pretty worried that he's just going to rage at me over… well, whatever it is he feels like yelling at me for today.

I'm pretty sure he'd tell me to fuck off just for blinking too many times in his general direction.

Stifling what's left of my courage and my pride, I sigh deeply and prepare myself for a verbal assault. Bo once told me that being the leader may also cause some people to blame you for their setbacks, but also bring about their successes as well.

I have almost no idea what the hell he was talking about, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with being responsible. Isn't the saying, _with great power comes… uhh, great… superpowers, or… _oh screw it! I'll just head on in and hope for the best.

Hopefully he doesn't decide to tear my face off.

Twisting the doorknob, I pensively step inside and close it behind me. "James?" I ask, having to squint because of how dark it is outside. "Are you still up?"

"…come here, Clem…"

Doing as he tells me, I practically drag my feet across the tile floor as I see him; propped up on a thin, lumpy mattress as he tries to find his glasses in the dark. Thanking me when I hand the shattered lenses back to him, James breathes deeply before trying to lean upwards.

I'm still not on the best terms with him knowing what I know about his… _activities_… but for a certain someone's sake, I need to make sure that I never even try to bring that up for as long as I can. Lives could very well be at stake here.

"...they took Bo, didn't they?" James asks me, sadly sighing when I nod in confirmation. "Damn it… he's a tough son of a gun, but I'm not so sure how those goons operate. They don't seem like the friendly sort."

"They told us to drop all of our supplies and leave," I point out as I hand the note over to James. After reading it over a couple of times, he flattens the paper and hands it back to me.

"And are we?"

"Doesn't look like it. This group isn't too fond of just throwing in the towel."

"Doesn't surprise me really," he admits as I notice the cuts that will undoubtedly start tuning into scars soon enough. So eerily similar to mine… "Who'd want to give up what they earned over a couple of strangers? Everyone needs to think of survival first."

Pausing and trying not to go into too much detail (since he undoubtedly still needs rest), I stay silent and notice his eyes lingering over at my face for an extended period of time. I constantly feel like I have to watch what I say around him; as if one false step will lead to a nuclear meltdown that I won't be able to avoid. However, this time, it seems that James has actually regained some of his senses.

At least a little bit, anyways.

"Lilly told me what happened to Debbie… how she killed her that night," he says quietly, not a whole lot of emotion in his voice. "She's gone too, isn't she?"

Nodding, I pull up a chair and put my hands in my lap.

"…did you know about it, Clementine? Did you know about Debbie the whole time?"

Staying still for just a moment, I heavily sigh and shamefully hang my head; nodding silently once again. There's nothing for me to say, really.

To my complete surprise, he doesn't get mad. Doesn't yell or scream or even twitch an eyebrow like he usually does. No, instead, James too nods his head in confirmation; as if he's accepted it as it is. "I know why you wouldn't tell me who it was," he explains, shrugging his shoulders as he maintains a neutral expression. "You just wanted to protect everyone – I can see that now. Maybe you were right to do that kind of thing… to try and spare my feelings and two lives in the process."

As I listen to his voice, I notice that he seems to be a lot more calm and accepting than he has been over the past week or so – perhaps it's progress, or maybe this is just a quiet phase that he's going through. I'm hoping it's the former.

"I'll admit it: I'm pissed off. But… not at you," he says exasperatedly. "I guess that really I'm just… tired. So, so tired… Have you ever felt like that, Clem? Have you ever wanted to just sleep and let the horrors of the world just slip on by?"

"More than once, yeah," I acknowledge; a bunch of nights with Christa coming to mind.

Turning his gaze to the far wall, James makes himself more comfortable as he rests his head against the wall behind him. "Despite what I may have said to you before… I respect you, Clem. I couldn't see past your age and inexperience beforehand, but now I see you for what you really are. You stepped up when nobody else would – that takes courage, you know? Out of anyone, they're gonna remember you as the one who took charge and made things happen. We'll make things better somehow, Clementine… I'm… I'm sure of it…"

With my mind heavy with thoughts of Ellie and dark images of what could possibly happen if this man were to find out about it, I close my eyes and simply nod once again. I need to keep her safe – safe from James, safe from the world… even safe from _me_.

I'll hide this secret for life, even if it kills me.

"I'm gonna try and make peace with Debbie…" he adds on, running a hand over his bald head. "It might take a while… but I'll make it. Somehow, I'll… I'll be able to wake up tomorrow with a smile on my face. I'm sure that she'd want us all to be happy."

Before he can say anymore, I see Zayne's flashlight shining around outside; giving me a valid excuse to get out before I really let something slip.

I don't need any more drama in my life.

_AN: Okay, so Petulant Octopus and Emily Rose, don't worry! I'm not just abandoning your OCs lol, they'll be back in this story later! I just felt it was a good time to introduce them, that's all. They'll be having bigger roles to play in the coming chapters… so please don't try to hurt me, k? :D_


	9. Down with the sickness

_AN: Just wanted to take a second to thank Oreo Anarchy for the absolutely unbelievable job she did on the cover for this story – it looks amazing, and I am now forever in your debt lol. Seriously though, great job and I really appreciate all the hard work you put into making it :D_

_Props to you, Oreo! If you'd like to see the full version for yourself, go to DeviantArt and type in MyDarlinClementine – it should be one of the first to pop up._

_**Two weeks later, Lilly's POV **_

…I… I've barely got enough strength to even think, let alone actually move around this hell of a place. I've been fed nothing but one snack each day (courtesy of Alden, even though he wasn't supposed to) for the last two weeks, and I haven't been able to leave this room unless I was heavily supervised.

Have you ever been so hungry that it physically hurts? Have you ever needed to eat so badly that it keeps you up at night; bugging the ever-loving hell out of you as your stomach grumbles and moans for nourishment?

If you've said no to either of those questions, then you're one of the lucky ones. They say the average person can go three weeks without any food before they die – three whole weeks of pure hell. Having a tiny, little granola bar each day might boost that number up to a few more weeks… but who am I trying to kid here? If I can't even move around the room properly without somebody having to boost me up, then I might as well slit my own throat and be done with it.

"Bo… talk to me…" I whisper, trying to spark a conversation with what little energy I have left. That's the other thing – our captors finally decided that it wasn't worth the hassle of having to back and forth between our rooms, so they literally dragged Bo across the floor and tossed him into the security office with me. "You're hurting… I know you are, Bo. You can't… keep me shut out… forever."

Silence – the thing that I had expected is what I am getting, no more, no less. Bo is still _sore _after all that's happened recently (and no, it's not just limited to his new stump), so for him to try and give me the cold shoulder is largely understandable.

Understandable, but stupid nonetheless.

"If you won't talk… then I will," I mention, hoping that he might be persuaded at the prospect of having to listen to me ramble on for however long I can keep going. At this point, I'd probably just keep talking until my lungs ran out of oxygen – I'm afraid that the moment I stop talking will be the moment that I'm truly alone in the world. "I know you probably… hate me after talking about killing De-"

"We're going to die in here, Lilly."

Caught off guard a little bit, I turn my gaze towards the man, who's clutching at his stump and trying to grasp at thin air; almost as if he's imagining that his hand is still attached. The scary part of looking at him isn't the stump, however.

It's the eyes – there's a still, eerie nothingness to them that I haven't seen with him before.

"Why do you say that?" I ask groggily, finding it more and more difficult to focus on things as the days roll by.

Twisting his arm back and forth, Bo doesn't answer me at first. He's got a lot to be preoccupied with, and it seems as though the guy's almost trapped between his own little world and the reality that's set out before us. It's kind of sad to watch, really. Bo was so much more passionate and full of life beforehand according to Clementine.

"I know their type – if they don't get what they want out of holding us here, then they'll dispose of us like old trash," he explains with a shrug. "Don't act all surprised… wait, didn't I tell you? About me?"

"Can't say that you did, no…"

"Must've been Clementine, then," he sighs, leaning against the wall as he lowers his mangled limb onto his lap. "…I used to be like these people. A bandit, I mean. We killed, robbed, lied and cheated to get what we were after… because it was the only method that we were _absolutely sure _would give us what we wanted. There aren't a whole lot of people left that know that about me…"

You know what? If he had told me this about four years ago or so, I probably would've been all up in Bo's space; grilling him on how pathetic bandit assholes are and how they've done nothing but break people apart and leave nothing for the rest of the world.

But now? Honestly, I don't even give a damn. I've done some pretty fucked up stuff before, so I'm not exactly one to talk about who's in the right.

"Who you were… doesn't make a difference anymore…" I tell him with a small nod; trying to see things from his perspective. "And Bo?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm… sorry," I tell him with as much sincerity as I can pull off, "…for being such a… fucking asshole all the time. If things were different… I wouldn't have tried to kill Debbie. I can't take it back now, but… I know you were close to her…"

Stopping whatever he was doing before, Bo closes his eyes and breathes deeply through his nose. "It's not me you should be apologizing to," he quietly whispers, getting a kink out of his back as he stands up to stretch. I'd say that he's lucky for getting some food into his belly, but at the cost of a hand… yeah, not really a great trade-off. "You shouldn't have said those things to James… You know how broken he's become. It's good that you finally admitted that, don't get me wrong. But the way you went about it…"

"I know – I fucked up. Once again," I sigh, hearing my stomach rumble for about the billionth time. "I… I couldn't hold it in any longer. He pushed me to my boiling point and I just… _cracked_. Maybe it's too late for apologies… but I'm at least gonna try. We've gotta find a way out of here, Bo. If nobody else will save us, then… then it's up to us to save ourselves…"

"Lilly…" he murmurs, frowning as he looks over at me. I feel like shit, I look like shit, and I smell like shit. Bo won't admit it because he's far too nice, but I know it's true. "You can barely move around. How are we supposed to – "

"_Alden! Are you about ready to go?!"_

Stopping himself midway through his question, Bo turns his attention to the security feed that we're getting on the monitors. Tracy's out in the main plaza somewhere with her entire platoon of survivors stationed beside her – all of them sitting at tables in the little cafeteria place they have in the mall. This area's actually quite a lot bigger than I thought it would be.

"Yeah… just a second!" Alden replies; appearing on the screen as he slowly walks towards the group leader. Despite him giving me food rations, it still doesn't excuse the fact that he's stood by and allowed shit like this to happen. "Alright, I'm all set, Trace… Do I really have to do this?"

"Buck up a little bit! Show some spine, Ald! You're doing this for the betterment of the community!" Tracy explains, turning around and holding up a rather large bag and placing it roughly on Alden's back. "Just remember the game plan, alright? You head over to the store, don't tell a damn thing about who you're with, offer the blankets, check out the food situation, get Kazuki and get out. We're all counting on you, Alden. The future of our group is resting entirely on your shoulders right now. So umm, yeah… no pressure or anything."

Seeing him gulp, Alden reluctantly nods before adjusting the straps on his shoulders and marching away; looking incredibly nervous even though it's difficult to tell facial expressions over the security monitor.

He's going to the grocery store?! Fuck! This is bullshit – Bo and I can't even do anything about it, being locked up in this place! Jane and Clem… they might be in terrible danger, and I can't even get out to warn them!

Well, fuck that! Hungry or not, Bo and I are getting out of this hellhole one way or another! This has been going on for way too long!

And besides, if Alden's gone, that means the last of my food supply is gone too… The stakes just got raised exponentially higher all of a sudden.

As I watch Tracy turn back to address the crowd, I can't help but notice that that whole conversation seemed… dubious. Alden didn't even look as though he had a say in the matter, but the startling thing was how easily Tracy was able to control and manipulate the conversation. It's like she was playing the guy like a violin right from the start!

Maybe that's how she and Josh manage to reel people in…

"We've been denied what's rightfully ours for far too long now," Tracy announces, pounding her fist on the table in order to wake up a sleepy survivor. "Alden's just the first step – we couldn't tell him what we were planning because of his weak heart, but now we can finally begin preparations. This grocery store group won't bow down to our demands? Fine, then we'll resort to other means in order to get what we're after."

"Why the fuck don't we just march over there and shoot them all down?! We've got all the firepower here that we could ever need! Let's take this by force!" Josh proclaims, getting a round of agreeing shouts as he stands up with a crazed look in his eye. "Fuck 'em all, we can take them! Butcher every last one of them – no mercy! We should strike fast and hard, Tracy! They won't even know what's coming!"

Tracy, for her part, seems to disagree with that sentiment.

"Sit down, right fucking now!" she tells him, pointing downwards as he reluctantly returns to his seat. Maybe these two don't get along as much as I thought. "That might just be the dumbest idea I've heard all day. I get it, Joshua – you're a bloodthirsty fuck who'd enjoy nothing more than to torment this _Anne _chick that I keep hearing about! Well guess what?! She's not here, so unless your stupid ass would like to go and track her down, then shut your mouth and listen! Why would we send Alden into enemy territory if we were just going to shoot up the place anyways?"

Joshua opens his mouth to argue with her, but at Tracy's questioning look, the guy slams a fist on the table and walks off; shouting out how this is a huge mistake.

"Let him go – clearly he needs to blow off some steam," she tells one of the men who's about to take off after him. "Look, I know life out here isn't ideal… but this plan could save lives. _All _of our lives. Why risk any more bloodshed when we can just as easily save a bunch of our bullets and get what we want?"

"What's the plan, then?" asks a younger woman who's looking pretty tired of waiting around. "You've been saying that we'd be in a safe place for months now! Anything's better than the rat hole we were in last time… but Kelly…"

"I told you to never say her name ever again! Not her, not the bitch she stayed with, and not fucking Zayne! They're _dead _to us!" she rages; anger painted all over her face. Bo shakes his head with a glare as he watches this all go down. "…listen, I'm not willing to put you guys in danger, okay? We're in this shit together, like it or not. We're all brothers and sisters now, and I'm not willing to put your lives at risk by going into an open war. These people are _not _to be underestimated."

Getting a number of thankful but silent nods, Tracy clears her throat before speaking again. I'm trying not to be fooled by her somewhat caring demeanor – regardless of what she says, this woman is incredibly dangerous. She might say one thing, but mean something entirely different.

If you could say one thing about Joshua… well, at least he's more to the point about things. Even if I want to grab a shotgun and blast away at him for a solid hour or two…

"We need to try a different tactic instead – something that's going to break the back and heart of their group. Something that'll really put a dent in their plans," she grimly explains, placing her hands on her hips. "That's why I've given out a special surprise for this group of theirs, and poor Alden's got no idea that he's the one carrying it. I'm thinking a little biological warfare might do us some good, and when the time is right… _that's _when we'll move in."

"God… damn it…" I murmur, forcing myself to sit up despite my body practically begging me not to. "Bo… we have to warn them… They've got no clue…"

Nodding in firm agreement, Bo stand up and tries his hand at opening the door. When that obviously doesn't work out, as he twists and turns the handle with no such luck, Bo paces around the security office; trying to find something to get us out of this jam.

"Look for something we can use!" he tells me; grabbing a chair with one hand and dragging it across the floor with a screech. When he realizes how physically incapable he's becoming with only one hand, Bo loudly groans as he kicks the chair in a fit of anger. "Fuckers! Can't even lift the damn thing up to smash at the window… Son of a bitch…"

Looking over to the corner, I shakily point over to the walkie-talkie that I had managed to hide when Tracy had come in to question me a couple of weeks ago. It hasn't had much use since then, but as Bo sees what I'm pointing at, he seems to realize what I intend.

Nothing like trying to bust open a window with a big piece of hard plastic!

"When I get out, I'll come back for you, understand?" Bo tells me as I nod. I feel really damn tired all of a sudden, but that's nothing really new. My energy's all but gone from the lack of nourishment over the last couple weeks. "Just stay put – I'm gonna try to get us back home… Wish me luck."

Silently wishing him all the best, my glazed eyes slowly start to flutter shut as I lay in a heap in the corner; watching him try to bust the glass window as he starts smacking hard against it. The guy's determined, I'll give him that… but I want to warn him about how dangerous this could potentially be.

Actually, scratch that. It's undoubtedly a fucking _suicide mission _he's trying to pull off here… but I suppose it's better than trying to wait around just to die.

As he starts to make some real cracks in the window pane, with blood slowly dripping down his hand, I listen as Tracy finishes rallying the troops. She better not lay one fucking finger on Jane or Clem… or I swear to god, I'll come back from the dead and kill her myself.

"Let's give 'em hell like they've never seen before," she remarks; her voice drowned out in my ears as Bo smashes the window and leaps out the side. Taking one look back towards me, he nods before vanishing from my sight.

* * *

_**Clem's POV**_

"_For god's sakes, Elliot! Come down from the roof already!"_

"_I've got this, Racheal! Just leave me the fuck alone, would ya?! I'm on lookout duty!"_

"_No you're not!" _she retorts in annoyance, with the both of their voices carrying throughout the grocery store. _"Being on lookout duty means that you're up there for a shift or two! You've been sitting up there all week long! That's not doing a job, that's living on the fucking roof! Now get down so we can talk this out!"_

Closing my eyes, I rub my head in a vain attempt to stop a massive headache from coming over me as I sit in the room with Kazuki. Even with the door closed, it still hasn't made one lick of difference – you could probably hear their shouting match for miles. I get that Elliot's still upset about Nikita, but _come on already! _There's no reason to bring the entire camp down, too! The guy must've shot his rifle about twenty times yesterday… at squirrels.

_They were startling me! I didn't know if there were walkers out there or not!_

Yeah, real good excuse right there.

The eleven year old in the room with me… hasn't been faring too well, to be honest. She keeps complaining about how the room she's been cooped up in feels like a refrigerator with how cold it can get, but the weird part is that there's no electricity left in the building. Shouldn't that mean that it's the same temperature everywhere in this place?

Well, apparently not – I can feel the chill in the air, too. So, without asking for permission from anybody, I slowly walk up to her with a warning glance.

"I'm getting you out temporarily," I tell the kid, glaring darkly to make my point. "Let me make myself perfectly clear first – if you try to run off, harm anyone in the group or do anything that you're not supposed to be doing, I'll kill you. No exceptions, no hesitation. Do you understand me?"

"…why are you doing this?" she asks me, rubbing her sore wrists as I untie the rope from behind her back.

"I don't see the point in keeping you locked up in a place like this. Especially when there's nothing more we can get out of you," I state matter of factly, making sure that I have my gun trained at Kazuki in case she tries anything. "You're a person, just like the rest of us. It's about time that we treated you that way."

"I mean… why keep me alive at all? Why did you keep your friends from just pulling the trigger?"

Pondering this over a little bit, I make sure that my back isn't turned as I slowly open the door. Realizing that she's not in any real position to make a move or do anything stupid, I lower the gun a little bit before answering her; ignoring the shocked look of Jane as she starts walking towards me.

"I don't want to be that kind of person," I tell her, getting ready to hear Jane tell me how dumb I'm being. "If we're going to try and save the world, then I need to start with the smaller things and work my way up. That means sparing your life."

I can't tell what she's thinking, but Kazuki definitely looks sullen as she silently nods her head and keeps to herself; probably wanting to keep away from Jane for as long as she can. Perhaps I was a little bit harsh there, but sometimes there are necessary evils that need to be taken into account. I've got little room left for sympathy these days.

Telling her to go sit over by the fire pit, I fold my arms across my chest as Jane grabs the kid by the scruff of her shirt. This isn't gonna end well…

"Let her go, Jane!" I demand, even though my words aren't really registering in her head right now. "Damn it, Jane – I know what I'm doing! Just leave her alone, okay? She's not a threat anymore, I made sure of it!"

"She's the _enemy_, Clementine! I don't think I need to remind you what group she _really _belongs to!" Jane argues, keeping a firm grip on Kazuki's shoulder and preventing her from escaping her clutches. "We can't just let her wander around the store! Do you not see how dangerous that could be?! This kid _isn't _trustworthy – she helped kidnap Lilly, and – "

"That's enough! We're finished with this, alright? I'm keeping an eye on her for the day, and then she's back into the interrogation room after! That's what's happening!" I tell her firmly, finding myself being more forceful than I usually am. Fortunately, Jane seems to be pretty occupied with something else to pay it too much mind, so I tilt my head to the side in curiosity. "What aren't you telling me?"

"…it's nothing."

"Jane… I'm your friend," I point out the obvious, wanting her to trust me just as much as I trust her. "Now what's up? What's going on?"

Very reluctantly letting Kazuki free, Jane frowns deeply as she watches the kid silently take a seat; warming her hands up by the fire as she tries not to make eye contact with either of us.

"…the place is called the Renegade Outlet Mall," she tells me, causing me to rub my eyes tiredly. I should've know it was this… Jane's been acting almost impulsively these last few weeks in her desperate attempt to find Lilly. "Finally got my hands on a map at a gas station nearby, and I'm convinced that that's where she's gotta be. I'm heading out there soon."

"We talked about this, Jane…" I remind her, trying to get the woman to see things on a broader level than just herself. "Look, I want to find Lilly just as much as you do – "

"I'm starting to doubt that…"

"…but going out there on your own is complete suicide," I tell her, choosing to ignore that back-handed comment. "We don't leave friends behind, and we're going to find her, Jane. But trying to shoot everyone down isn't gonna solve anything! If you die out there, then what's the point?"

"I _won't_! You know that I can handle myself just fine – probably more so than anyone else here!" she tells me exasperatedly. Even though she's most likely right about that, my opinions aren't going to be swayed. Unless we have solid evidence, I'm not willing to send Jane out trying to track her down. "You've changed, Clem. You know that? And I'm not necessarily sure that it's for the better… What the hell happened to you? I can't just leave her to those fucking monsters!"

Ouch… that stings like you won't believe, coming from one of my closest friends that I've ever had. I don't want to have to hear that kind of thing from Jane of all people, and a big part of me wants to go out on a search party and finally finish this shit once and for all… but I can't. I literally cannot do that.

"I don't want to lose you two… but I need to put the group's best interests first…" I admit with a hint of shame in my voice. "I'm the leader now, Jane. I've got a responsibility to keep this group safe – that's the deal I made. I love you and Lilly, you know that… But I need to be _here_. This is where I belong right now. Hopefully you'll understand…"

After a few seconds of quietness, Jane, in response, picks up a rifle from the table and slings it over her shoulder with haste. It seems that she's made her decision after all.

"I'm leaving," she states simply, eager to get on the road as quickly as possible. "With or without you, I'm going to this mall and I'm going to bring her back. You can't stop me, Clem – not this time."

Debating on whether to hold my ground and stand up to my friend or not, after a moment I simply stand to the side and let her pass me by. I wouldn't even try to stop her if I could. Jane can make her own decisions… and deep down I'm actually glad that she's choosing to follow this lead. Sometimes a gut feeling in your heart is the best you can go for.

"Jane…"

Stopping, the older woman turns around for a brief moment as I hold out her knife in my hand. Chuckling slightly, she comes back over and snatches the object from my grasp; having forgotten about it earlier in the day.

"Bring her back, alright? For real this time."

"I'm counting on it," Jane affirms, stepping out into the Texan sun and once again setting off to find Lilly. Hopefully this will be the last time we need to do this.

I just want to get everyone back to the space centre as quickly as possible.

* * *

"I need you to follow me – quickly," I order, tapping on Kazuki's shoulder in urgency. "Come on, Kazuki! We don't have all day here!"

Confused, the girl does as I've asked as she steps away from the warm fire and jogs up beside me.

"What's going on? Is something the matter?" she questions, causing me to sigh as I explain that I'm not entirely sure. Racheal and Emily seem to think it's a problem, and Elliot nearly shot the person's head when he casually walked up to the grocery store. James is still in his room resting, and fortunately he's got some company in there – Zayne volunteered to watch him in case something changes.

I don't really think this is a huge deal, but the rest of them insisted, so here we are.

"Stay right next to me, got it?" I tell her, unwilling to let the girl leave my sight unless she's locked in the room. When I glower at the kid, reminding her of what would happen if she tries to run, she nods feverishly as we head out to the front.

Standing there is a young man, seemingly unarmed except for a knife-looking thing in his pocket, with a large backpack on his shoulders as he holds his hands up in surrender.

I notice Kazuki tense up for a moment, but her expression returns to normal in the blink of an eye.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Racheal questions, keeping a pistol hidden up her sleeve in case this is some kind of trick. "No funny business, got it? Now why are you here?"

"…the name's Alden, and I was just looking for a place to stay," he tells us, eyeing all of us carefully as he takes the knife (or what looks like a knife) out of his pocket. When he notices that we're all on high alert, he slowly and carefully drops the weapon to the ground before raising his hands back up. "I'm all alone out here – it's just me. I've been on the road for a few weeks now, and I was kind of hoping that – "

"What's in the bag?" I ask suspiciously; frowning as he turns it around and starts to unzip it. Inside of his backpack are numerous… blankets? "What the hell do you have those for?"

Gesturing backwards with his thumb, Alden explains how he got them out at a garment factory back the way he came; claiming that he managed to pilfer all of those away just in time. "I'd be willing to trade these in good faith, if you'd let me?" he suggests, kicking the bag forward lightly as Elliot goes to examine it.

Well, at least he finally managed to get off the damn roof for a change.

"They look pretty warm to me," he comments, but frowning nonetheless. "But I don't know… You seem way too unarmed to be out here on your own. Where are you from?"

"Arkansas," he answers immediately, feeling as though he almost rehearsed this talk beforehand. Maybe it's just the paranoia getting to me. "I'm from Little Rock – it's not that far from here, but the dead moved into town so I figured I'd try something different. Houston wasn't my first choice, but that's where I wound up. So how about it?"

Hmm… I'm not so sure about this guy. He's all by himself, or so it seems, but this seems a little bit too good to be true. Blankets would make these cold nights go by a lot more smoothly, however, and he seems generous enough.

"Maybe we should let him stay," I acknowledge, choosing to be the better person in this situation. Something about him is just screaming for me not to let him in, but Jane and I have shut people out before and, well… look how well that turned out. "There's enough room in the store, and if things go well he could even come back with the rest of us to the space centre."

"All in favour of letting him stay?" Emily questions, raising her own hand and seeing mine and Kazuki's hand as well. I stay silent at that – she's just a kid, and what harm could it do to let her vote in with the rest of us?

Besides, it seems that she's the tie-breaker.

"Thank you guys so much… You don't know how much this means to me, really," Alden tells us quietly, lowering his gaze to the ground as he hands over the bag of supplies. "You… you won't regret this, I know it. I'll try to pull my own weight."

"We'll see about that," Racheal comments, glancing towards me for a second before heading up to the roof – despite Elliot's protests. "Get a good night's sleep for once, Elliot! Take one of them blankets and get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

As Emily helps the guy get settled in to his new surroundings, and I put Kazuki back into the interrogation room (since I still don't fully trust her just yet), I head on over to the fire with a tired sigh; rolling onto a crappy piece of cardboard that's a lame excuse of a bed. It might be the worst bed that I've ever slept in (and trust me, there've been quite a few that could take that prize home), but anything's better than the ground. I'd rather sleep up in a god damn tree than have to be on the floor all the time – it hurts my back and leaves me feeling extra cranky in the morning.

Try as I might, I can't stop worrying about Jane and Lilly. Those two and Ellie are my whole life at this point, and the prospect of losing any of them has got me more than a little bit terrified.

But getting all worked up about these things isn't going to help me any, and like Jane told me beforehand – she can take care of herself. She'll be back before we even know it, and we can just put all of this to bed once and for all. That's the attitude that I need to have now. I've gotta be strong for the group to thrive.

As another day comes and goes, I lean on my side and try closing my eyes to get some sleep. These blankets Alden gave us really are comfortable – I'll have to make a note of thanking him for it later on.

Before I fall asleep, I cough a few times until my eyes shut closed once again.


	10. Raided

_Cough! Cough! Cough-cough! _

Ugh… god damn it… I feel like absolute _death_… Do you know what that feels like yet? To be so incredibly sick that all you want to do is roll over and let death swallow you whole in its tight embrace? No, not yet? Good – make sure that it stays that way.

But this… it can't just all be a coincidence. One night I'm sleeping comfortably; trying not to worry about whether I'm going to find Lilly and Jane's heads on spikes, and the morning after I and a number of others all feel like absolute shit.

That doesn't just _happen_.

"Let me take a look at you, Clem," James remarks, placing my hand at my side as he checks my forehead. Damn… why does it look like there are three doctors in front of me now? Why is the whole room spinning? "Hmm… you're burning up. The fever's already set in, it seems. Shit…"

"What's… wrong with me…?" I ask softly; coughing into my sleeve as I try to keep it all together.

Grabbing a cloth from his pocket, James dabs at my head in order to remove the sweat that's undoubtedly formed. "Hard to say without my lab," he explains with a grimace. "If I had to take a guess, I'd say that you might have some sort of flu virus. Clem, have you been in contact with anyone that's been sick lately?"

"No…"

"Hmm… has there been anything different recently? Any changes in eating patterns? Have you felt lightheaded at all?" he probes, trying to get a sense at what the hell might be going inside this little body of mine. "Have you been in contact with any new material? Did you happen to come across anything different, like a new kind of food, or maybe a sweater, or…?"

All at once, everything clicks as I whip the blanket off my legs and toss it aside like a live grenade.

That son of a bitch…

"You fucking piece of shit!" Racheal swears; eyes interlocking with Alden's as he backs up in fear. There's really nowhere for him to run, but a whole bunch of us are incapacitated right now. The only ones who haven't been affected were the ones who didn't use the blankets last night – namely Kazuki, Zayne, Racheal and James. Emily, Elliot and I have basically been knocked out. "So that was your game all along, wasn't it?! You got sent over here to poison the lot of us! Give me one good reason why we shouldn't light up the fire pit again and stick your head inside?!"

"I didn't know anything about making your people sick, I swear to you!" Alden pleads; his eyes wide with fear and astonishment. "Tracy… she only told me to scout out the food, and… and to break out Kazuki… I-I had no idea that those blankets were laced with disease! I would never have agreed to it had I known!"

"He's… _cough-cough… _lying to us!" Elliot exclaims from his spot on the floor. Emily's passed out nearby, and Kazuki's safely locked away in the interrogation room (although you can faintly hear her banging on the door). Zayne's looking rather pissed off this morning, as is to be expected, and then you have James – who has actually remained surprisingly calm throughout this whole thing.

That unnerves me quite more than I'd like to admit.

When Racheal and Zayne back the guy up against the wall, with the latter of the two brandishing a pistol at his side, Alden starts to panic a little bit. "I swear to god, I didn't mean for this to happen! I – "

"All I'm hearing out of your mouth are words – words with no meaning whatsoever," Racheal remarks, tilting her head to the side as she sharply glares at him. "I think your time here has come to an end, Alden. We should find a nice, open field to drop you off. Maybe the walkers will be more welcoming for ya!"

"Don't try it, alright?! Just hear me out! I'm worth more to you alive than dead!" Alden exclaims, sighing in relief as Racheal slowly backs up – only a little bit, though. "Look… I know this is a horrible thing to have happen to you folks, and I know that it's largely my fault. And I'm so, so sorry that it came to this. The group that I'm with… they're not right, whether it's in the head or not I'm not entirely sure. But they just… _do _things sometimes without thinking of anyone else. All Tracy and Joshua are interested in is the situation for their own group – they'll stop at nothing to get what they want."

"Pssh, yeah, no shit! So why are you still with them?! You could've left the same way that I did!" Zayne insists, but Alden doesn't seem to agree with that very much.

"And where would I go, huh? Run off into the woods by myself? I'd be dead within the week! Two if the biters were feeling generous!" he states as he relaxes his body a little bit. The guy's still a little fidgety, but not nearly as much since none of us are posing a serious threat to him right now. "My options were laid out for me, and I took it. I had to stand by and watch as Tracy unleashed Josh upon innocent victims – we used to call him the Blood Hound up until he found out about it. I couldn't say a damn word when they started… cutting people, leaving them to rot in their rooms and acting like everything was perfectly fine…"

I start tuning out what they're saying after a little while – partly because I'm as sick as a dog, but also because James is digging through his bag, no doubt searching for something that might help me out a little bit. Scrummaging around, James pulls out a small pill bottle and empties what remains into his hand.

"Ibuprofen," he says simply, as if I'm supposed to know what that means. "It's a pain killer. This puppy might not be a cold-remover, but it might be good enough to relieve some aches for a little while. You should only take one for right now, so swallow it."

"Since when… did you become nice?"

Chuckling quietly, James smirks as he closes the bag back up; satisfied as I take a big gulp. Bleh! That tastes horrible! "You've just caught me on a bad week, that's all," he says, turning his attention back to the rest of the group. "What do you think? Should we trust what he says?"

"No," I reply instantly; not feeling the least bit of sympathy for the man who (knowingly or not) infected a bunch of our group members. "But… we can't ignore him. We should… try to bargain him and Kazuki… for Bo and… Lilly."

Leaving me be for a little bit, James wanders on over to Elliot, who seems to be taking this whole infection thing even worse than I am. His eyes are going bloodshot, his nose is running like a leaky faucet and he's really looking worse for wear.

Hmm… based on how apologetic and shocked that Alden has been since this morning, perhaps he really didn't know anything about the blankets. Clearly this Tracy woman had almost everything to do with it, but why would she try something like this? Normally, people come over to attack us with guns and shooting; not scare tactics and infectious diseases. Coupled with how we aren't even completely sure what this infection actually is doesn't help matters, and I'm getting pretty worried.

What's gonna happen to all of us?

"There's a small doctor's office in the city a good ways away from here," Racheal states, running a hand through her hair as she tries to keep calm. "Most of the doors have been locked up tight, but I know a different way inside. I can head on over and search the place for medical supplies. James, is there any way that you could travel to this space centre of yours?"

"It would take at least a day to get there, and the roads are dangerous without some backup to help me out."

"Damn it… alright," Racheal solemnly replies, bending down to check Emily's pulse before standing back up again. "I'm heading out right now – the longer we wait, the more likely this'll get worse."

_How could it possibly get any worse than this? _I think to myself, feeling as though I've sunk as far down as I could possibly get. Man, what did Tracy put in those blankets? Dog shit?

"I'm coming too – it'd be a good idea to have someone watching your back," Zayne says, already swinging a bag over his shoulder and heading out the door before anyone can tell him otherwise. Not having much of a choice, Racheal relents before narrowing her gaze over to Kazuki's room.

Oh no…

"Racheal…? What are you doing?" I mumble quietly; my voice being too soft for her to actually hear me. As she forcefully unlocks the door and swings it open, she narrows her gaze at the poor kid before pointing out to the front door.

"This is for reassurance," she explains swiftly, gazing hard at Alden for a brief moment. "Need to make sure that you two don't try anything else. You're coming with me."

Raising an arm out in a vain attempt to stop her, I end up rolling onto my stomach and briefly get Racheal's attention. "Don't… hurt her…" I say, not wanting any unnecessary blood spilled. "She didn't… do this…"

Bending down on one knee in front of me, Racheal tilts my chin up slightly before nodding towards me. "Don't worry," she reassures, "I don't kill kids. That's not who we are."

"Umm… good to know… Not that I'd let you come near me anyways…" Kazuki stutters, unable to believe that we'd even be having this conversation at all. I don't mean to scare the girl – that's actually what I _don't _want to happen.

But you really can't be too careful with anything these days. Better just to use words first rather than finding out that somebody's been shot to death.

As Racheal practically marches her out of the grocery store as if they're all in some kind of boot camp, I see Alden physically relax and sink down low against the wall and onto the floor. He just dodged a bullet, literally. If Lilly and Jane had been here…

Wait a minute! He might know something, wouldn't he?!

"James?" I croak out, bringing my back up off the dirty floor so that I'm now in a sitting position. All the blood rushes to my head as I move up a little bit too fast. "Can… can you bring him… over here? Please?"

Nodding, the doctor wanders on over to our unwelcomed guest as he nudges Alden with his foot. Pointing over towards me, James manages to slowly convince the man to come over and see what I want with him.

I plan on getting some answers – _actual answers _this time, and not just stupid rumours.

"You were with Tracy's group…" I start off, trying to stay focused as best I can. "That means… you saw Lilly… and Bo!"

Immediately recognizing the pained look on his face, my stomach turns to knots as he cautiously nods his head again. What the hell is he not telling me?!

"You must be Clementine, then…" he acknowledges, looking to the floor. "Lilly was… telling me about you."

"Where… are they? What happened to them?" I demand crossly, feeling a stormy rain cloud looming over my thoughts as my blood boils just thinking about what kind of messed up, animalistic shit these people may have done to them. "What happened…? Tell me… TELL ME!"

My question is abruptly interrupted when the front doors slam wide open, and in pops the people that none of us had wanted to see – this really isn't an ideal time for Tracy and the rest of her group to show up.

"Well hello there, ladies and gentlemen," she says with a wicked smirk as their people get started knocking over shelves and raiding the store. Hunger and desperation clearly will make people do the craziest things.

* * *

_**Ellie's POV **_

Alright, let's go through the checklist here…

Backpack? Check.

Knife thingy? Umm… Hmm, let's see… Oh, there it is! Yep, check!

Okay, I think I'm all set! Now all I have to do is… oh no! I completely forgot about food and water! Well, I'm sure I can get by on crackers, right? And maybe there'll be a puddle or something I can drink out of.

Yeah, that's what I'll do! See? I can plan this stuff out all by myself!

Now I'm off to find Clementine and all of her friends – this shouldn't be too hard, right? No, this should be easy-peasy! I used to play as detectives with Riley all the time, so all that I've gotta do is look for clues. Footprints, pieces of clothing, things like that.

I saw it in a picture book once, you know! I'm not making this stuff up!

Making sure that Tommy can't see me anywhere, I tiptoe over to the door like a ninja and try to lightly push it open. When that doesn't work, I try shoving it a little harder; almost tripping over myself until I finally manage to get out. Man, that's heavy!

I feel kinda bad that I'm leaving Tommy all by himself, but I have to do this thing. Clemmy and the others could be in terrible danger, so it's up to Super Ellie to come to the rescue!

Super Ellie is supposed to have a sidekick, but… _sigh_, thinking about that just makes it ten times worse. Riley would want me to be happy… but it's hard to do that when everyone around you is gone.

But don't worry, Clementine! I'll come save you, and then you can make everything better!

Wow… I forgot how big this place actually was! Some of these buildings are _super-duper big! _I bet that I could see the whole wide world from up there!

As I walk around a little bit, I can't help but hug myself tightly as I gaze upon the big, scary hole in the ground. I don't know what happened over here, but… maybe it was some kind of explosion! A big boom that blew up the ground!

I don't want to think about that, though… I've only been out here for a few minutes, and I'm already totally lost. I don't like being lost, it makes me feel all scared and yucky inside!

Looking down into the hole, I clap twice and listen as the sound bounces around down below. As cool as that might be, it still doesn't change the fact that I can't find any clues. No footprints, no pieces of clothing, and no arrows pointing me in the right direction. Why can't they just make things easy for me? Couldn't they have left a trail of bread crumbs for me to follow or something? Is that too much to ask?

Feeling a little bit sad, I sit down on the edge of the hole and look down at all of the trucks, buses and cars; dangling my legs over the ledge as I notice all the dead, gross faces looking back at me. Don't you find it weird how these guys all used to be _people _before? I sure do… I still wonder if there are still people living inside them somewhere. Clementine doesn't think so, but maybe she's wrong about that this time. I mean, how else would they come back to life if there wasn't something still there? You can't just force a dead body to stand up again and start moving around!

As the wind blows by and I hug my sweater more tightly around my body, I can't help but sniffle a little bit. This isn't fair… why do things have to be so crappy all the time now? I don't wanna be so scared anymore! I'm tired of losing my friends and family, and I'm just so… well, afraid!

I'm scared… I'm scared of ending up alone…

"God damn it… God fucking damn it! I told you they were gonna be trouble, but _no_, you just DIDN'T want to hear it, did ya?"

"Would you ease up already? They said we could come over to this place for saving their lives! That site was a deathtrap anyways. We kept Ryan up on that crane for way too long…"

Oh no… Those sound like bad guys! I'd better hide before one of them finds me…

"One week is nothing, Kelly. Besides, it's not as if he was going anywhere – we did tie him to a pole, after all."

"What the hell is wrong with you, Katie? We had a _dead guy _up on a crane and acted like it was no big deal!" the weird lady exclaims, holding a big, mean-looking gun in her arms. "We should've given him a proper burial. He deserved that much…"

Patting her buddy on the shoulder, the second woman shrugs her shoulders as they get closer towards my hiding spot. Crap! "Relax, Kelly – Ryan still had a purpose even after he died. He was one hell of a scarecrow! Kept the birds from shitting all over us, at least."

Chuckling quietly to herself, Kelly shakes her head with a small smirk. "I can't even believe I'm having this conversation right now," she admits, unfortunately spotting me as she widens her eyes and points straight towards me. "Whoa… holy shit! What's a kid doing out in the middle of nowhere like this?!"

Time for me to book it out of here!

Knowing that they're starting to chase after me, I try to run in circles in order to get them confused. Maybe if I outrun them for long enough, they'll both just give up and go home!

"Kid! Wait up! We just wanna talk to you!"

Ha, yeah right! More like you wanna cook me up and put me in a stew! Those fairy tales couldn't have lied to me about everything!

As I slowly start to run out of breath, and notice that the two grownups are catching up to me, I bolt it over to a dirty car and open the front door; quickly hopping inside and shutting the door behind me.

Thankfully, I'm able to lock the door behind me as I crawl over to the driver's seat with wide eyes. They can't catch me in here!

Holding my switchblade out in my hand near the steering wheel, I start to panic as the two women stand on either side of the car. "Go away!" I screech, glaring at Kelly with a big scowl.

The two of them look at each other once before shrugging and glancing back towards me, with Katie simply opening the other door beside me as she pokes her head inside. Stupid me forgetting to lock all the stupid doors!

"Leave me alone!" I yell as Katie pulls me out of the vehicle. For a moment I think that they're trying to kidnap me, but I get kind of confused when she just drops me back down out on the pavement. "Why-what do you want?! I'll cut you up if you don't leave!"

"We just want to talk to you, okay? There's no need to try and hurt anybody," Kelly soothes, introducing herself and Katie as I keep my weapon out in front of me. "What's your name, darling?"

"…Ellie…"

"Ellie, huh? That sounds like a pretty kick-ass name to me!" Katie smirks, causing me to giggle slightly as she fist-bumps me. Maybe these two aren't as bad as I thought they were. "But you can't be living out here by yourself. Are you with a group somewhere? Any chance that you know someone named Emily? Or Zayne, or someone named Jane…?"

"I know Jane, not the other two, though," I tell them shyly as I put my finger in my mouth. "I wanted to try and find her and my friends, but… then I got lost! I can't remember how to get home now…"

"Well, seeing's how we're looking for the same person," Kelly mentions, standing up to full height as I look upwards, "wanna tag along? We can help you get back home. You wouldn't happen to live at the Houston Space Centre, would ya?"

"Yeah, that's it!" I nod enthusiastically, causing the two women to snicker as they point to a huge, cool-looking building with those big glass windows that I always thought were so neat. How did they build it so damn tall?!

Hmph… maybe I wasn't so lost out here after all.

Told you I knew what I was doing!

* * *

_**Jane's POV **_

Taking a big whiff of the air, I scrunch up my nose in disgust as I quietly sneak my way over. This place reeks of dead corpses, diesel fuel and French fries. How that's possible, I'm not entirely sure, but maybe my mind's just trying to play tricks on me. It took me all night and almost a dozen walkers to kill, but I'm finally here. I've finally arrived at the Renegade outlet mall.

I haven't even entered the building yet, and already I can tell how much of a bitch it's gonna be looking around in here. This place is a damn maze.

And I'm the mouse who's getting tossed into it.

"Alright… where are you?" I quietly say to myself, holding my rifle out in front as I slowly creak the glass door open. The echoes of wandering feet and broken glass tells me that I'm definitely not alone in here.

That could either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

This place definitely hasn't had a great stream of good luck since it was abandoned, and it looks like the slobs that occupied it afterwards weren't exactly looking to tidy up the joint. Were they planning on staying here for the long term, or were they just gonna dine and dash like a lot of people I used to know? That was my philosophy at one point, back when I was still travelling with Jaime across the countryside. _Always keep moving_, I remember telling her, although she never wanted to go anywhere.

No, Jaime wanted to wait there for the dead to swallow her up like a turkey on Thanksgiving. She didn't even scream when they came for her, didn't cry when they ripped out her throat.

I'm not going down that road, no way. I'm gonna fight for my life until the bitter end, regardless of what they might throw at me.

Checking down the dark hallway to make sure that I haven't been followed, I bend down in order to grab onto a shutter that's blocking the way into some of the bigger stores. Lifting upwards with all my might, I raise the shutter above my head as I quickly slide underneath and lower the thing back down behind me. The screeching of rusted metal as it finally closes makes me cringe, and I have to hide behind an old dumpster as a couple of dead ones wander over to investigate.

_Crap, _I mutter internally, _how am I gonna keep going at this rate?_

When I accidentally bump into the dumpster, I find out that the thing is actually on wheels – that gives me an idea. With their attentions otherwise occupied, I shove the dumpster straight towards the walkers as they get trapped in behind it.

"_Wraaaagggghhh!"_

"Shut the fuck up…" I murmur, pulling out my knife and shoving it right through both of their skulls. If things go as smoothly as this, I might be out of this joint by sundown!

Crouching downwards, I quickly jog over to the far wall as I stick my head around the corner; eager to find Lilly and Bo so that I can get out of this creepy place.

Anyone up for shopping?

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"Now look at what we have here! You fellas have been holding out on us, haven't you?" Tracy calls out from the back room; monitoring her group's progress as they start piling all the cans out to the trucks. With this Josh character holding a shotgun warningly over at us and a couple other survivors doing the same with side arms, we can't do anything except watch as they take all of our stuff.

Snapping her fingers three times, Tracy tells them to hurry it up a little bit so that she can get the trucks moving again before anybody else shows up. "Anyone who slacks off loses their share!" she announces, pilfering off our goods like a band of pirates. "I don't wanna see a speck of corn left over, got that? We need everything they've got! It's gonna be a long winter soon!"

"Winter?" I ask quietly, wondering what the hell she's talking about. When she notices my curious stare, Tracy walks over to me with a smirk.

This lady is bat-shit crazy if she thinks she's getting off freely like this.

"Pretty clever, wasn't it? Luring Alden over here and having him bring you all down without him even knowing! Now _that _takes some talent!" she brags as Alden stands near the fire pit; unwilling to participate any longer. "Oh, rolling dead body parts all over your blankets sure was good for a few giggles. Most of you should be up and about soon enough. So you must be Clementine then, correct? The little leader of this little group? I'd congratulate you on the fine job that you've been doing thus far, but I don't really think that'd be an appropriate response. I hate liars, you know."

When I try to stand up and pull out a gun, Tracy simply chuckles before shoving me against one of the old, empty food cabinets and knocking me back down. Smacking my hand away when I try to reach for a sharply-cut metal can, the woman seizes the object and raises it to her head level.

"Are… are you going to kill us?" I cough, feeling a burning desire to end this woman right here.

"I don't think that would be the appropriate response now, do you?" she remarks, chucking the can far out of my reach as she shakes her head. "No… killing you would be too easy, and I'm not a killer. I'm not some psycho maniac out to murder you in your sleep just for a fun time. I'm a survivor, just like you. We all are, actually. Isn't that right, Josh?"

"Whatever you say, boss," he replies, cocking his shotgun back and aiming it right towards Elliot's head as he tries to reach for his gun. "Don't even think about it, boy! You threaten me or my family like that again, and you won't like how this ends! Now put your hand back nice and slow!"

"Just do it, Elliot…" Emily murmurs, looking pretty shitty herself as she finally wakes up and realizes what's going on. "It's not worth losing your life over!"

Begrudgingly, Elliot does as he's bid; frustrated with how easily they were able to get in here and take over the place. Of course the one day that we don't have somebody on watch is the one day that we get ambushed like this!

"If you're not killing us," I say, having to speak a little louder so that Tracy can hear, "then give us back Lilly and Bo… You can take Alden back, but you have to release our friends first! There's nothing more you can extort from us!"

Ignoring me for a few seconds, Tracy grabs the last batch of food that this place has as her group starts carrying their haul out to the trucks. With James being the only one really capable of running around at all right now, they've tied him up to a chair and have sat him down with the rest of us.

"We gave you plenty of chances to concede to our demands – an entire fucking month almost," she snaps angrily, shaking her head at Alden as Josh slowly backs up with his gun still raised. "Alden here has made his choice, and you did by not complying to what we asked for! So your so-called _friends _got what they really deserved! Josh, didn't you say something about that one guy… what was his name, Bo?"

"I caught the fucker trying to bust out of the joint. No worries though," he explains in a sickeningly calm tone, "he won't be around much longer. Hung him from the helicopter blades with the rest of 'em."

"No… You fuck…. Fucking LIARS!" James belts out, turning into his Hulk form once again as he struggles to break free of his binding. One slap across the face from Tracy has him in an even angrier frenzy. "God damn it… Bo?! Why?! WHY DIDN'T YOU FUCKING KILL LILLY INSTEAD?! WHY?!"

Shocked by his response, I glare angrily over at James, but he barely blinks an eye as he grieves over the apparent loss of his good friend. I'll admit, I'm going to miss him too, but to say that about Lilly… that's crossing the line. I don't give a damn that they didn't get along – _nobody _talks about my family that way!

_NOBODY!_

"Fuck… you…" I try to talk, but my voice is cut off as I erupt into a small coughing fit. I shouldn't be pissed at James considering what's going on, but I can't really help it! "Ugh… shit…"

With a shake of her head, Tracy spits on the floor before turning to leave with the rest of her companions; leaving Alden behind and, consequentially, Kazuki. "Now this has just been fucking pathetic. What a bunch of losers – I thought that you'd at least put up _a bit _of a fight! Y'all aren't any fun!" she mocks, giving us all the finger as she cockily starts strolling away. "Toodles, everybody! We appreciate your cooperation and all of that bullshit! We more than likely will never meet again with where we're off to, so take care of yourselves… or don't and get eaten by a pack of roamers, what do I care?"

As the trunks of the vehicles close outside and the engines roar as they speed off into the distance, I roll onto my back and kick the floor in frustration; pushing myself off the cabinet as I crash to the floor. James has his head lowered sadly without any hope for renewal, Emily's got her head buried in her hands muttering how this could've possibly happened, and Elliot's struggling to breathe as he tries to fight off the illness he's sustained. Alden, knowing fully well that he should've chosen a better group, is bent down near the fire pit as he sadly gazes over at me.

"I'm so sorry… If I had any idea they would go that far…" he cuts himself off, wisely doing so as I probably would've tried to shoot him if he kept on talking. Friend or not, he let those bastards walk in and take this group's life support.

They raided and pillaged us without even firing a single shot.

* * *

_**Jane's POV **_

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I repeat over and over again; worry evident in my eyes as I stumble with the door that leads out to the cafeteria. There's little to no time to spare on this one, as I gaze upon the downed helicopter with fear.

What the fuck have they done to him?!

I watch as he holds himself up on one of the helicopter blades for dear life – one stump of an arm hanging uselessly at Bo's side, while the other one tries to keep himself from letting go and getting hung by a thick rope around his neck. Add to the fact that a bunch of walkers have ganged up on him down below, just waiting for him to let go so that they can eat his legs, and you've got one screwed up situation.

"Just hang on, damn it…" I mutter, finally breaking the door open as I rush inside. As soon as Bo notices me, he desperately shakes his head in protest. "I'm not letting you die in here!"

"G-get… out…" Bo sputters, struggling to talk with the noose wrapped around him. His arm is violently shaking as he tries to hold himself up, and that's when I start waving my arms around in an attempt to turn the walkers' attention towards me.

Firing off a few rounds that bring two of the walkers to a second grave, I narrow my eyes in determination as the rest of the pack stumble towards me.

"Over here, assholes! Fresh meat, come and get it!" I shout while reloading and rushing over to a better position. With the amount of rubble that's fallen from the roof due to the helicopter crash, I can climb up and have a bit of a height advantage over my pursuers. "That's right, step right up! Come and get some!"

Shooting two more walkers and kicking the third (and final) one onto a rusted pole, I gasp in shock as Bo loses his grip on the helicopter blade and falls downwards; his face turning red and purple as he struggles violently for air. Thinking quickly, I carefully try to traverse on top of the downed bird while wobbling along.

"It's alright! I've got you!" I tell him, slipping as I roughly bang my knee on the vehicle. As I hiss through my teeth to ease the ache, I pull out my knife once again and crawl my way forward; past more of the sharp chopper blades until I get to the one that Bo's hanging from. As the fight slowly starts to die from his crazy arm swings, I desperately climb towards it and swipe at the cable.

It takes about three or four whacks until it finally collapses, sending Bo down to the ground as he gasps painfully for air. He's just avoided a private execution.

Climbing back down, I rush over to Bo as he tries to shimmy the cable off of his neck… with the only hand he's got left. "Fucking Christ…" I exclaim softly, helping Bo with the rest of the cable. "What the hell did they do to you?!"

"…gave me the old chop…" he wheezes, coughing and rolling back to all fours as he declines my offer to help. "I've got this… Nothing I can't handle, trust me…"

"Bo… where is she?" I ask fearfully, completely afraid of what his answer might be. "Where's… is Lilly here? Please tell me she's alive…"

Glancing up at me as if he's forgotten something totally important, Bo's gelatin legs lift him up as I force him to wrap his arm around my shoulders. "I tried to break us out… that's why they put me there… She's this way."

I support his weight as we slowly make our way through one of those Target stores that my parents used to shop at when they were still alive. Everything's just as red as I remembered it being, only this time there's more of that red colour thanks to numerous blood spills that have stained the tile floor.

I knock a grocery cart out of our way as it crashes into an old clothing rack.

"Bo, where is she? Why aren't you telling me anything?!" I demand, not wanting to burst out into tears if there's a horrible surprise awaiting me somewhere.

"They…" he stops himself, shaking his head as he points to an old security office. "There… she's inside. I smashed the glass so that I could get out, but… _sigh_, just see for yourself…"

Gently dropping Bo into a chair near the men's changing room, I get a shiver crawling up my spine as I shakily grasp the door handle. What if she's…? How am I supposed to…?

Putting on a brave face to act as my façade, I breathe deeply before opening up the office and looking inside. Nothing but darkness in here, really. Darkness, some shattered glass and a security screen with fuzzy white lines scrambling the reception on the screen.

When I finally do see her, laying in a heap on the floor, I almost lose all control in my legs.

"…Lilly…?" I ask, feeling like a timid little girl as I bend down towards her. She doesn't even look like the same person anymore – her eyes and cheekbones are all sunken in, she's got multiple bruises and cuts lining her face, and her fingers are so cold that I'm starting to wonder if there's any blood left in her system at all.

Lilly Caul looks like a fucking skeleton.

Barreling down beside her, I hold her head in my lap with tears in my eyes; lightly brushing my fingertips along her cheek as her eyes just barely flutter open.

"…Mmmghr?" she mumbles incoherently, causing me to shush her as I stroke her hair tenderly.

"Shh, shh, Lilly… It's me, Jane… Remember me, and that whole marriage thing?" I chuckle quietly, having mixed feelings about finding her like this. "I'm gonna take care of you, alright? You, Bo and I are gonna get out of here… for good…"

Her lips curve into the tiniest of smiles as her eyes lazily roll over to my face. That's literally the most action she can manage right now, but I'll take it – it's a sign of life if there ever was one.

"…J..an…e…" she murmurs ever so slightly as I rock her head softly in my lap.

"I promise, Lilly…" I tell her, meaning every word that comes out of my mouth. "I'll never let them take you from me. Never again…"

I spend another hour or so hunched over in that room, thanking whoever might be listening for bringing my sweet angel back to me.

We can go home now.


	11. Heading home

Racheal and Zayne nearly drop every ounce of medicine that they've carried in as they return to the grocery store, with Kazuki nervously closing the door behind them. That really doesn't surprise any of us, considering that their whole source of livelihood has now been stolen while they were away.

It's like coming home from work one day to find your house has been looted by armed robbers – you don't understand how something like this could possibly have happened to you.

"What in the ever-loving fuck…" Racheal gasps, dropping her stash of meds near my feet as she sprints into the food storage area. When she sees the situation for herself, she starts flipping her shit. "No… No! Everything we had, just… gone! What the hell happened in here?!"

"Ask Alden," James chastises, giving him a sideways glance as the guy shrivels up like a raisin in the sun. "He'd probably be more than happy to explain things. Isn't that right?"

While they engage in their pissing match over whose fault it was for this utter catastrophe, I turn my attention to Zayne and Kazuki, who both seem at least a little bit relieved to be back somewhere that they won't have their lives be in constant danger.

"You guys alright?" I ask, feeling slightly better than I did this morning. "Anything happen out there?"

"We got pretty lucky, but yeah, we managed," Zayne answers, nodding over at Kazuki with a small grin. "She saved my ass twice out there – took out two walkers that almost got me while I was checking out a nurses' station. Just pulled out her gun, and _BAM!_"

"Really?" I question, feeling impressed and slightly shocked that Kazuki would've done something like that. "Well… that was awfully nice of you. I'll be honest… I really wasn't expecting something like that. Good on you, Kazuki."

Smiling shyly, Kazuki looks away in embarrassment; saying that it was nothing. "Couldn't just let him get eaten alive," she remarks, having a fair enough point there. "But… what's gonna happen to us when – "

"We're _royally _screwed this time! All because of these two fuckers and their asshole group!" Racheal's booming voice interrupts us; pointing towards Alden and Kazuki as she stomps her foot on an empty chili can. I know what it is that I have to do… but I'm not sure if they'll hate me or not for it.

Only one way to find out, I suppose.

Forcing myself to my feet, I breathe deeply and step forward with a limited amount of confidence. I suppose this is one of my first real moments to take charge in the group, so hopefully this'll go nice and smoothly.

Clearing my throat, I stand in the middle of the group and proudly make my proclamation.

"Don't touch them – Alden and Kazuki are under my protection now."

A bunch of the people are offering up shocked, silent stares as I try not to falter under all of their gazes. Clearly that's not what they had expected to hear, least of all from me.

Racheal is the first one to break their stupor as she frowns in disagreement.

"You can't do that – not after what just happened!" she exclaims, getting backed by Elliot who also thinks this is a bad idea. "Look around you, Clementine! Our entire way of life here is obliterated, and now you're _defending them?!_"

"I can and I am. Alden and Kazuki are with me now… deal with it," I boldly tell her, having enough of pointless arguments and fighting amongst ourselves when we should really be looking for answers. For clarification, I look my two new recruits with a shrug. "It's not as if they have a lot of options anyways," I admit, recalling how Tracy basically just abandoned them when the opportunity called for it.

I realize that this is a delicate situation for all of them – Elliot, Racheal, Emily and Zayne have basically been living on scraps for a while now. But if things go properly, then I may have just picked up two fresh survivors to join our… ahem, _cause_.

I've made a mental note to refrain from speaking about the walker disease for as long as I can.

"How are we supposed to come back from this now?! The one thing we had going here was our food supply, and now it's all gone!" Racheal shouts, not seeing any bright side to this. How can I blame her for that? "It's like the Grinch came in and snatched up all of our food! Didn't even leave us a scrap!"

"We're lucky that nobody got shot!" Emily interrupts, but Elliot's not having any of it.

"How is this any better?!" he questions, his voice sounding gravelly from coughing so much this morning. "Without food, we might as well slit our own throats!"

"Now that's one hell of a thing to say! Way to set a great example for the kids, Elliot…"

Truth be told, I don't think any of us are really bothered by that kind of talk. If Ellie was here, then fine – keep your damn opinions on that kind of thing to yourself. But we've all been exposed to far worse than that kind of thing.

"He's not wrong, you know," Racheal voices her opinion. "What's worse? One person getting shot defending what we need to survive, or having the entire group starve to death because we didn't try to fight back?!"

Biting back Emily starts to untie James from his bindings as she keeps her gaze focused on her friend. "You weren't here, Racheal! They were prepared to butcher us like a herd of cattle if we didn't cooperate! I'd rather move out of here and try to find someplace better!"

"This whole fucking city is tapped dry!"

Breathing deeply, I look over towards James who reluctantly nods at me. Time to make another executive decision – this might be even bigger than the last one. I'm sure Jane, Lilly and Bo wouldn't really care either way (if they're even still alive) about me making this choice for the whole group, and the way I see it, doing this is only going to help our numbers.

Taking a look at their faces – Zayne, Racheal, Emily and Elliot – I feel reassured that this is the right course of action.

"No it's not…" I answer, knowing for a fact that there's still one place they haven't been to yet. "Come with us back to the space centre. We can keep the deal going, but if you're under our protection, then you're also under our rules. That means you treat everyone – and I mean _everyone_, including Alden and Kazuki – with respect."

"Wait… you're still willing to let us in? But what about the food? Wasn't that a part of the deal?" Zayne asks, looking rather excited at the prospect of leaving this broken down grocery store. A big building with a much nicer roof over their heads probably sounds like a dream come true for him.

Nodding eagerly, I make sure that Kazuki's joining in the little semi-circle that we've got here as the people start huddling around me. "We need people like you in our group," I explain, capturing their full attention for once. Usually when I talk, the group's already sped off to their own little conversations – not this time. "We've got more than enough room – there are empty beds and there's plenty of work to be done. We can build a real community and start over. So… who wants to join the Fireflies?"

"Huh? Fire…flies?" Kazuki asks me, no doubt wondering what the hell I'm talking about.

Smirking, I prepare to give the pitch that I plan on using for as long as I'm able. We need to get the people united under one roof; one group and one goal. United we stand and divided we fall, right? Strength in numbers and all of that.

We can't be separated anymore – we have to work together to survive.

* * *

_**Jane's POV **_

"Lilly, come on… You're being ridiculous! I thought you were starving!" I complain, frowning as she turns her head away in protest. Holding the packet in my hand, I try my best to make her take it out of my grasp, but she's being her usual stubborn self. "Don't make me force-feed you! I'll do the baby thing to you, I'm dead serious!"

When she keeps her head to the side like a child, I sigh before trying to make the situation a little more light-hearted.

"Here comes the _train! _Choo-choo!" I say in a silly voice, laughing as she pulls off the tiniest of smirks. "Open up, you stubborn oaf! I've seen five year olds that were less picky than you!"

Very reluctantly, Lilly accepts the stale crackers that I've got in my hand, but I don't say anything as I actually do have to feed her. No sense in making her feel even shittier about all of this, and I'm pretty sure she'd be really humiliated if I brought it up. Her pride and confidence are both delicate attributes for her, and they've really been lacking lately.

I'll have to make a habit of fixing that more often. She's better than she realizes.

"I know – they weren't very satisfying even when they weren't expired," I admit with an apologetic smile. "But anything edible is priceless these days. I've pretty much given up on being a vegetarian at this point. How are you feeling anyways?"

Not really capable of giving me a verbal response, Lilly gives me a thumbs-up as she swallows another cracker. I know that she's lying to me – the girl definitely feels like hammered shit. Who wouldn't after getting beaten and starved for days and weeks on end? If I was in her position, I likely would've caved and pleaded for mercy; begging for any scrap of food that they could scrounge together.

Hell, I'd make an attempt at eating the fucking grass if I had to. Anything to keep me going for a little while longer would be like finding a diamond in the rough. I have no idea how Lilly stays so strong all the time.

"Well," I sigh, sitting beside my partner as she leans her head softly on my shoulder, "what should we do now? I really don't want to stick around in a place like this, but if you and Bo aren't ready to move yet…"

"…we…go…" Lilly blurts out, struggling with every word as she shakes her head.

Knowing that Bo will likely not want to slow anybody down with the kind of person that he is, I bite my lip as I try and go over the different possibilities. Well, I suppose that settles it then. This could go really, really badly – _really quickly_. Lilly can't even _stand_ let alone move around on her own two feet, and Bo's only got one working hand. He's gonna have to get used to shooting with his left arm really quickly, but the more immediate problem still remains.

How the hell are we gonna move Lilly around? I didn't see any working cars on the way in here!

"Just wait here, alright? I'll be back in a jiffy," I inform her; resting her head gently to the floor as I jog out of this dull security office. This is all that she and Bo had to look at for all of that time? Yeesh, what a drag that must've been. I mean, I probably would've been satisfied with something to read possibly, but just sitting here in the dark with nothing to do would drive me absolutely bonkers.

Heading back into the department store with a heavy heart, I tiredly rub the sleep out of my eyes as Bo looks up at me curiously from his spot on the floor. Shrugging my shoulders, I head out into one of the aisles to try and find some things that we could use.

"_Twenty percent off the latest cellphone_," Bo reads aloud, shaking his head and chuckling as he glances at one of the signs. "Hell… really makes you realize how stupid and pointless some of our old worries were, doesn't it? Which phone would make me look cool…"

Feeling as though I'm not really meant to answer that question, I head on over to some of the abandoned clothing racks and aisles that at one time would've been crowded with people; all searching for something that they would look good in. Hmph, I guess I'm thinking about it now too, aren't I?

"She's alive, thank god…" I remark even though her present condition isn't that much better. Sorting through the tattered clothing racks, I play with the fabric in between my fingers before tossing them into the shopping cart that I had crashed earlier. You never know when somebody might need some of this stuff. "Bo, I don't mean to rush you or anything, but would you be alright to move? This place still isn't entirely secure, and I'd feel better if we were all back at our group. If you still need some time to heal up, though…"

"I can move well enough – no need to worry about me."

"You sure?"

"Yeah… this place has been nothing but a nightmare," he solemnly replies, watching me as I pile some more of the clothes into the cart. "You know, if Lilly can't move around on her own, then you're gonna have to find something to carry her in. Something like that."

Glancing down at the shopping cart, I find it difficult to believe that this is going to be our best means of transportation. I'm not even fully convinced that this thing will even _fit _a fully grown woman inside of it, let alone getting them from this mall all the way back to the grocery store. We'll be out there all night long!

"I don't think these things were really built for long-distance transportation," I tell him swiftly, worried that the whole thing might end up collapsing and leaving us stranded with dead weight out in the middle of nowhere.

"It might not be the most stylish or most comfortable thing in the world," he admits, slowly standing himself up as my eyes wander to his stump once again, "but it's the best we've got. I'm ready when you are."

Figuring that the clothes may be good for at least _a little bit _of cushion in order to ease the pain of this long trip, I dump some more into the cart before turning it around. I certainly can't carry her on my back the whole way there, so I suppose that this'll have to do.

Bo's not exactly raising my confidence as he stands up all wobbly and such, but if he claims that he's good to go, then who am I to say anything different?

* * *

It took quite a bit of effort (and some rearranging when I accidentally dropped her into the shopping cart head first), but we finally managed to get Lilly all settled in and are now officially back on the road. Obviously she's far too big to completely fit inside of this thing, so she's got her legs hanging out the side as she rests her head against the cold metal of our transportation method. It looks terribly uncomfortable.

This thing's not quite as heavy as I pictured it would be, which is definitely a bad thing on the whole – it means that Lilly's gotten way too light and is definitely not at a healthy weight right now. So, over the last twenty minutes or so, I've occasionally been popping a cracker or two into her mouth as the two of us travel onwards; Bo walking slightly behind at a snail's pace. He's fallen to his knees a couple of times so far, but the man insists that we keep going.

I told him that none of this would matter if he collapsed from exhaustion, but would he listen? Of course not.

"We keep this up and we should be able to get there by morning," I whisper back as Bo nods in my general direction. You can't really see much out here other than what's nearly right in front of you. "You still with me there, Lilly? I haven't heard anything in a while."

Felling her lightly rub the top of my hand to let me know that she's alright, I give her fingers a light squeeze as I keep my eyes peeled. This road was relatively clear the last time I came down this way, but not being able to see very well has got me anxious. Nothing says "safe" like wandering out in the middle of the night, barely being able to see ten feet in front of your face and having the possibility of walkers, people and wildlife creeping up on you from nearly every direction.

My sarcasm knows no bounds.

"Ugh… damn it," I curse as I accidentally bump the cart over a dead walker that I had killed on the way over here. The wheels clang against one of its limbs as I quickly try to pass over it. That's the other thing I don't like about doing this – the cart can get pretty noisy when you move it around too much, and every step we take seems to be like a fucking bell for every single walker to follow us out here.

Luckily, we haven't come across any of those just yet. But I'm not holding my breath on that.

"So… how was Clem doing back at the store? Did she get any farther with that group?" Bo asks me, partly out of boredom but also a little bit of curiosity.

Realizing that he can't easily see me shrug my shoulders, I clear my throat before answering him. "She handled herself a lot better than me," I admit, feeling slightly bad that I was doubting her beforehand. "If she hadn't stepped in when she did, I'm pretty sure that we'd have all been kicked out by now. Clem's got a knack for that sort of thing."

"She's definitely one of a kind," he agrees as we bank a left on the abandoned street up ahead. This part was causing me some issues beforehand, but we'll manage just fine. I hope. "She really looks up to you guys, you know that? You and Lilly… She was always going on about how special you were and how much she cared about the two of you staying alive. I'm guessing the three of you must be a pretty tight-knit group."

Did I say that I was feeling crappy before? Well, now I've somehow managed to even surpass that level. God damn… I totally bitched at her for not immediately coming out to help me look, but what the fuck was I thinking? Clem's got bigger fish to fry now, what with this whole leadership business just starting up. And here I am giving her hell because she wasn't able to put aside her duties to the group in order to help me go out on a wild goose chase… I feel like a complete asshole right now.

Clearly I still have a long way to go. I'm just so used to being on my own or in really small groups that I couldn't see the bigger picture.

Grunting, I put a little more force into it as I struggle to push the cart up a small hill. My strength is starting to wane a little bit, but I need to keep chugging along. Despite what I told Bo about taking a break, this area's definitely not the safest place to do so.

"I figure we could all use a nice, peaceful nap when we get back. No bullshit, no worrying about guns or anything – just closing my eyes and dreaming about eating my way out a big tub of chocolate or something," I chuckle quietly, just thinking about all the delicious stuff that I haven't been able to have for years now. "Or maybe a nice, deep-dish pizza with extra thick crust… Mmm… Come on, Bo – even you have to admit that that sounds pretty nice… Bo?"

Stopping in my tracks, I turn my head left to right trying to find out where he might be. If he's just trying to play some practical joke on me, then I swear to god he won't have any hands left at all!

When he doesn't respond to my shouts, I frantically stick to Lilly and the cart like glue; holding out my pistol and calling out his name some more.

"_BO?! WHERE'D YOU GO?!" _I holler out, cringing at the stupid rhyme as I see a small light in the distance. It's not a flashlight or a street lamp or anything like that, but rather it's… a fire?

Oh shit.

"Hang on, Lils," I whisper to her, but I'm not even sure that the woman's even awake anymore. Rushing forward, I try to make my way towards the light in the hopes that Bo is still on our trail. He wouldn't have just taken off unless there was a reason to, and there's no doubt in my mind that he would've come this way if he managed to spot this.

Turns out that the fire is coming from a black truck; one that looks suspiciously like…

"_GRAAAAAGGGHHHH!" _moans a small pack of walkers, some of which have launched themselves through the windows of the truck to get at some corpses in the front seats. They don't seem to care that the flames are burning much of their faces away.

A few others have taken notice of our presence, so I aim my pistol out and start firing rounds off. If this doesn't cause Bo to come running, then nothing will.

Just as I had predicted, a second gun fires off behind me, though I hear Bo cursing under his breath as he takes two more shots than he normally would've to bring the third walker down. Shooting with his left hand is definitely going to take some getting used to.

As for the ones in the burning truck, we decide to leave them alone for now. Despite them not being able to feel the scorching-hot pain of the fire as their heads are engulfed, it likely won't take that long for their bodies to be burned and/or melted away. Besides, I'm definitely not gonna try and knife them in a burning truck, so they continue to feast on their prey unaware that we're standing behind them.

"Looks like one of Tracy's trucks," Bo comments, grunting as he finds it difficult to reload. "I'm sure of it – they were all the same model. Those have gotta be some of the people that kidnapped us. Josh told me they were coming back to the grocery store as he was tying me up…"

"What?! And you didn't _say anything?!_"

"Would it really have made you go any faster? We could barely move as it was!" Bo retaliates, pointing over to Lilly before sadly shaking his head. "I wonder what came first for these guys… the fire or the walkers…"

Not wanting to dwell on it for too long, I push Lilly away from the fire and head off down the path that I was working towards before.

However, before I can make any real progress on that, Bo tells me to stop and turn back around.

"I didn't take off like that for shits and giggles you know! Come on!" he remarks, motioning towards a small trail that leads off into the woods. "One of Tracy's goons was saying something about this. Apparently this path is a shortcut for where we need to be!"

I wouldn't exactly want to trust the word of one of the dicks who took them away from us, but I suppose there's only one sure-fire way to find out. "Lead on, then," I tell him as we leave this burning pile of corpses behind us.

Hopefully there won't be any more surprises waiting for us in store.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"You should probably get some rest, you know."

"I don't need _anything_. And I especially don't need you to tell me what I should and shouldn't be doing," I murmur sleepily; sitting against a window sill as Kazuki comes and sits down nearby. I'll sit here waiting all night long if that's what it takes – no rest until my family comes home.

I'm almost positive that that goes both ways.

"Racheal says that if they're not back by later this morning, then we're all leaving without them," she tells me, causing me to snort slightly as I shake my head. I'm already starting to feel a bit better thanks to a heavy dose of medication, but clearly staying up all night isn't gonna go over well.

"Is that right?" I mutter sarcastically; my crankiness coming out in full force. "Well, that's odd. She's gonna have a tough time finding that place when I'm still here waiting for Lilly, Jane and Bo to come back."

"Clem, what if – "

"They're _coming_, Kazuki. Just you wait…" I retort defensively, feeling (unsurprisingly) protective over them as I lean my head back while continuing to stare out the window. I have the utmost confidence in them – they're fighters, all three of them.

And even though James was too distraught to see otherwise, I could tell that Josh was lying through his teeth. I saw a slight hesitation on his face – he didn't know if he had killed Bo or not. It's pretty easy to tell what others are thinking if you can read the signs. I've had a lot of practice, and have been fed a lot of bullshit over the years to know when somebody isn't being honest with me. A twitch of the eyebrow, a slight quiver of the bottom lip, a rub on the arm… most people don't even realize that they're doing these things unless somebody points it out to them.

It's the people that never show any of these signs that you have to be careful around. They're the ones that've mastered the game and can manipulate anybody to get what they want. Everybody lies – they just don't like to admit it.

Maybe I fall into this category too.

"I wanted to ask you this earlier," Kazuki says, looking out her own window as she wipes a layer of dust from its otherwise clear surface. There's nobody up on lookout this early in the morning, so I suppose having two of us awake from inside isn't such a bad thing. "…why did you do that? Stand up for me and Alden, I mean. Our group jacked all your stuff and left you guys with nothing!"

"This isn't actually where I live, you know."

"Maybe not… but what made you do that? It couldn't have been because you were feeling nice last night," she points out, causing me to smirk slightly at the thought. "What changed your mind? I thought you were pissed at us before?"

Coughing into my sleeve, I pause for a moment to try and clear my head. Why did I make that choice? It's not as if we were best buddies beforehand, and their group was responsible for all of this nonsense that's been going on for the past month.

So if it wasn't any of that, then it could only be…

"You and Alden aren't like the rest of them – you just got caught up in a bad situation. Everyone makes mistakes," I remind her, stretching out and shaking my leg after having sat on it for too long. "Besides, our group really needs all the help it can get."

"So… you really are trying to save the world, then."

"…if that's what you want to call it," I reply, being purposefully neutral in how I say it, "then… yeah. Yeah, I guess we are."

Sometimes I really question on whether hiding this information from everybody (including Ellie herself) is such a fantastic idea. Is it really for Ellie's life that I'm doing this? Am I really saving her by keeping this startling information back?

Or is it just for my own personal pleasure?

I'm going to make a hypothetical scenario here. Let's go out on a limb and say that I head back to the space centre, admit my findings to James, and go from there. What'll happen next? After he does his little experiment thingy, would lives actually be saved? If do, how many? Surely a part of Ellie's brain wouldn't be enough to save the entire human race, right? I mean, she's just _one person! _Wouldn't it take a whole bunch of people in order to create a massive vaccine? James even told me himself that the stuff they had up in space wasn't a guaranteed success.

…so the question still remains – am I doing the right thing here? Have I completely lost my mind this time, and is all of this just a massive waste of time? Perhaps… but if we really want to try and survive out here, then we can't do it alone. I don't want to have to wake up in the morning worrying about whether Kazuki or Alden or Racheal are gonna come in and slit my throat for supplies. Cure or not, this is what our lives are right now. If people have to change because of it, then so be it.

I refuse to carry all of the world's problems on my shoulders. It's not as if it's really given me much to look forward to anyways. Both my parents are dead and dozens of other close friends are too.

"Sometimes I wonder if we're all beyond saving…" I mutter, forgetting that Kazuki is still sitting beside me. "Shit, I… I didn't mean – "

"Whoa… aren't those your friends outside?" Kazuki interrupts as she points straight out the window. Immediately turning my head, a beaming smile finds its way on my face as I make my way downstairs; having to move a little bit slower due to the illness.

I can't help but laugh as I walk out the front doors and glance at Jane, Lilly and Bo; with Jane grinning over at me in return.

"I'd hug you guys, but I'm kinda sick right now!" I remark, but putting a hand to my mouth as I glance down at Bo's hand… or what _used to be _a hand. "Oh my god… did they…? Bo, I'm so sorry they did that to you…"

"Nothing you could've prevented, Clem. No need to apologize," Bo tells me, looking more tired than I've ever seen before. Bending down in front of me, the man smiles as he carefully pats my shoulder. "Looks like you're running a real tight ship over here. You're doing an awesome job, Clem. Jane tells me you've been the one keeping the peace…"

Taking a peek behind Bo, I notice that Jane still hasn't come up to us yet. I get a really uneasy feeling in my stomach as I glance down at the broken heap of Lilly; looking like a shadow of her former self.

"Can I…?" I ask quietly, getting a small grin from Jane as I slowly approach the shopping cart. I'm not entirely sure if her eyes are open or not, but at least she's breathing. "She looks really tired…"

"Lilly? Look who's here!" Jane nudges her lightly; tapping her on the arm as she's slowly aroused from unconsciousness. She practically looks dead from this angle. "It's Clementine, see? I told you she'd be alright."

Opening the slits in her eyes about a fraction of an inch, I see Lilly smirk lightly as she tries her hardest to sit up. "…Clem…" she manages to say as I stop the urge to grab onto her hand and never let go. I should never have been so moody and obnoxious to her like I was back at the space centre. If I had known that she'd eventually end up like this… Well, I suppose I'll have plenty of time to make amends now, won't I?

"Kazuki?" I call back to the front of the store. "Could you start getting everyone up? They're gonna want to see this, but after that we've gotta move."

"Move? Move where?" Jane asks curiously. Having just gotten back, you'd think that they'd at least have a little bit of time for rest, but there's a space centre that's calling our name.

There's also the matter of what I'm gonna tell Ellie to excuse my extreme lateness. Now that's gonna be a fun conversation…

"It's a long story, but we're heading back home," I mention, adjusting my cap so that it fits more snugly on my head. "All of us together – back where we belong."

When James appears and notices Bo standing there alive and well, I get the feeling that despite our heated fights and differences, things might be able to go smoothly after all.

The Fireflies are starting to turn into a more legitimate community.

_AN: Sorry if that seemed like a bit of a filler chapter, but most of the gang is now back together, and next chapter's gonna be kind of crazy lol. It's going to be the last chapter before I do a time skip – you know, those things I told you all about beforehand but haven't actually done yet? Yeah, those._

_I've already got an idea of where I want to go for the next chapter, but if you have any suggestions feel free to leave them in the reviews. I'll always get back to you, 'cause you guys are my faves :D_


	12. Dark before the dawn

_AN: This entire chapter's gonna be in Clementine's POV, alright? Cool beans. And I'm issuing a sort of apology for the OCs in one of the lines here lol – hopefully it won't happen again :3_

_Also, please note: the jobs that I'm assigning the characters in this are NOT set in stone, and will likely change as the story progresses. So please don't be alarmed lol._

* * *

"We know how to get home, Zayne. You don't have to keep checking a map to see if we're going in the right direction," I smirk, watching as the boy rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Sorry," he apologizes while folding up the map and putting it back into his pocket. "Just an old habit that's hard to kill off. Won't happen again, I swear."

Tapping me on the shoulder, Racheal appears beside the two of us as we wait for the rest of the group to catch up. Shouldn't be much farther now.

"He gets anxious when he doesn't know where he's going," she explains, causing the guy's face to redden a little bit. "He'll fidget around like crazy, look behind himself all the time and constantly ask if we should've turned around somewhere back down the road. He can't help it, that's just what happens."

"I do not!" he responds with indignity, putting his hands in his pockets as Emily sneaks up behind him and gives him a bit of a noogie. "Quit it already! Weren't you always going on about how we never give you personal space?! Well this right here isn't helping!"

Chuckling at his expense, Emily stops ruffling up Zayne's hair as she too joins in to poke fun at the thirteen year old boy. It's not bullying, I promise!

Well, maybe not in Zayne's eyes, but it's all in good fun.

"Don't act like it's not true, Zayney-boy! You get so worked up about that stuff that it's fun to watch!" Emily chirps, looking a lot more chipper than she did yesterday. I'm guessing a good night's sleep did wonders for her, but I obviously still feel pretty crappy considering my activities last night.

"No I don't! Stop telling her that!"

"Oh really? Well what about the time we were wandering around the dog park? Racheal remembers," Emily points out, getting a nod from the older woman in confirmation. "Every two minutes or so, you'd keep going on about us being lost and that we should go back the way we came – _every _time, without fail! As if we didn't already know that before, hahahaha!"

"That's because we were _lost! _L-O-S-T!" he exclaims, which just causes the three of us to chuckle even more. Eventually, Zayne kicks over a stone in annoyance, but even he can't help but giggle a little bit as he gives up trying to change our minds. "Whatever… this is stupid…"

I'll admit – this is really a nice change of pace from what happened yesterday. Everyone seemed to be losing their minds over the food situation. Hell, I don't think I've ever seen Racheal get that angry before. Usually she's pretty level-headed and tends not to freak out even when crazy things like that happen.

It seemed really out of character, didn't it? Everyone was – it was as if they'd all been replaced by an angry army of Lilly's that had taken over their brains!

Speaking of Lilly…

"Want me to take over?" Alden suggests, obviously wanting to do something useful as he hangs with Kazuki near the back of the group. "I can push the cart… you know, if you'd want me to – "

"I've got it." Jane murmurs, keeping her gaze straight ahead as she doesn't even turn her head to look at the guy.

"You're sure? I mean, no offense or anything, but you – "

"Just drop it, dude," Bo advises, turning around as he shakes his head. "Trust me, it's not worth it. You're already in the dog house enough as it is, mate. No need to bury yourself deeper inside."

Looking a bit deflated, Alden shrugs his shoulders while muttering something to himself – I can't hear any of it since they're still a good ways back from the rest of us. I still feel kind of bad for the guy, you know. Sure, he may have been spying on our group behind all of our backs, but from the way that I heard it, Alden was the one who was making sure that Lilly was still breathing for the past few weeks – Bo as well. He seemed genuinely apologetic and humiliated about the whole blanket shenanigans that were going on.

But now he's being targeted by us. Every time shit hits the fan, as Jane used to put it, people always look for somebody to dump all of their problems on. It's much easier to blame someone else than to fess up and claim responsibility for the stupid shit that you'd done yourself.

"So… the Houston Space Centre…" Racheal trails off, trying to make small talk after things start getting a little quiet. "Is it really like you guys say? That it's this huge, safe building with loads of room for all of us? Because we've been told that sort of thing before, and we've come out really discouraged…"

"After all of this, you _still _don't trust me?"

"To be blunt, not quite. You're getting there, but so far you folks haven't exactly given us much to go on," she tells me, causing me to frown as she goes on to explain herself. "Emily, Elliot and I have come across a lot of people, all with a whole lot of empty promises that things will somehow just _magically _get better for us; that all of our problems will just disappear. So far we've lost… what was it now, ten people, Emily?"

"Fifteen and counting," she replies glumly, counting to herself in her head. "Yeah, it's at least fifteen now. Eight of those were lost when we got conned by a big group of scavengers back in Kansas."

"_Fifteen_," Racheal repeats as I try processing that. I'm not going to go into detail about how many people that I personally have lost, since I'm pretty sure that I'd double that number by now, but I get their point. "And that was all within a year, too. So… try not to take it personally or anything, but we're still a little skeptical. Once we get to this place, then maybe we'll start making some judgement calls. Until then…"

"I'm in the dog house, too. _Great_," I respond sarcastically, finding it incredibly disappointing that despite letting them into our home and trying our best to negotiate, they're still not completely sold on us. I suppose that I can relate to that a little bit – after all, I didn't really trust Jane at first when I met her back at Howe's.

Don't you remember? She shot Troy right in the… well, you know. Not exactly a great first impression, was it?

As James hollers for everyone to watch out for the massive hole out in the road, causing the newcomers to gape in surprise, I stare up at the building and try to think of what our next steps are going to be. We can't just have everybody sitting idle with nothing to do, so I'm assuming that jobs are gonna have to be handed out. Bo's gonna feel like shit about it, but there's no way that he'll be able to be our lookout anymore. Even he can't lift a sniper rifle with one hand, and even if he could, the aim would be way off. Looks like it's gonna be an early retirement for him on that account… crap!

Who the hell is gonna replace him?

As we approach the main doors to our place, I turn around and wait for the rest of the group to catch up to us. Once everyone's gathered around, I look up to the tall piece of architecture with a smirk.

"Still think I was lying, Racheal?" I question, glancing with relief as the front door opens up, with Ellie slowly poking her head out as she immediately smiles upon seeing me.

"Hmm… let's not count our chickens before they've hatched," Racheal deadpans, but even I can tell that she and the rest of her little posse are pretty impressed by the size. Sure, having a big building doesn't automatically mean it's perfectly safe to live in, but they still haven't ventured inside yet.

Ellie rushes up to me as I bend down and stop her before she can wrap her little arms around my waist. Wouldn't want the girl to catch this, too.

"You were gone for _sooooooo _long!" Ellie exclaims, smiling shyly and waving to the others that she knows in the group. "I…I was getting worried, so I kind of, umm… snuck out and tried to find you, but – "

"What?!" I interrupt her, widening my eyes as I make her look me in the eyes. "Damn it, Ellie! I thought I told you to stay with Tommy inside the space centre no matter what! You don't know how happy I am to see you, bud… but don't ever do that again, okay? I need you to promise me!"

Twirling her foot in a circle a little bit, Ellie's gaze is trained on the ground as I let out a sigh. I _hate _having to do this kind of thing with her, but sometimes a firm tone is what kids like her need. She has to get this through her head – this kind of thing CANNOT happen, under any circumstances. If she were to get into trouble outside, and somebody wasn't around… I don't want to think about what might happen.

"…I'm sorry, Clementine…" she apologizes, somehow managing to make _me _feel guilty for even being upset about this in the first place. "Are you… are you mad at me?"

Smiling sadly, I shake my head as I affectionately rub her arm; glad to see that she still has that poncho I gave her a while back. "I couldn't stay mad at you if I tried," I tell her jokingly. "But don't do that sort of thing anymore, alright? I missed you too… but keeping you safe is more important. It's the most important thing in the world, remember? So next time you want to go out here, make sure to tell me or Jane or Lilly first, deal?"

Sticking out her pinky, I laugh heartily as I engage in a pinky swear with the kid.

_Pinky swears are forever_, I hear Sarah's words in my head, causing my insides to tighten a little bit. I still have regrets about her too; thinking that I could've done way more to try and save her life if I had just tried hard enough. But in reality, with the way that she was going at it… I'm not so sure it would've made a huge difference. The girl was broken without Carlos around.

But enough of those depressing thoughts. I've got some introductions to make.

"Wanna help me show these newbies around?" I ask, smirking as she shrugs her shoulders. She's literally almost as shy as I was around her age, and that's not exactly an easy feat to obtain. Knowing that I'll have to slowly ease the girl out of her shell, I stand up and turn to address the crowd, with Ellie naturally hiding behind my leg.

I don't blame her – there are some butt ugly, scary bastards out here!

* * *

"You know," Emily remarks, having set her bag to the side as Racheal sits on one of the beds, "I think we should paint this place – make it a little less… _dreary_. White seems so bland!"

Rubbing her eyes tiredly, Racheal leans her head back on one of the pillows as I point Alden and Kazuki to their room right beside these two. They're gonna have to share the place for now, as it turns out the rooms on the third floor haven't been totally cleaned out yet, and these two rooms are attached to one another. I'm sure they've been through more cramped conditions than this before though, and by the way that everybody seems to be relaxing once their heads hit their pillows, I'd say that this isn't even a complaint worth voicing.

"Seriously? Where the hell are you gonna find buckets of paint?" Racheal questions as Ellie wanders her eyes around the room like an interior designer.

"You kidding me?" Emily chuckles, looking amused as Ellie playfully runs her hand along the wall. "Who would ever have thought to bring buckets of paint with them during the apocalypse? There's got be some in a hardware store or something! Hmm… I'm thinking light blue…"

As Alden and Kazuki finally get settled and thank me for the hospitality, the three of us watch the exchange as Ellie shakes her head and practically bounces up and down with bubbling excitement. "I've got an idea!" she exclaims, pointing at the white walls in all directions. "How about bright yellow with polka-dotted dragons flying around?!"

Oh my god… YES. PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN RIGHT NOW! Somebody needs to give this kid a work contract – I'm pretty sure her ideas would make her a multi-millionaire!

Chuckling, Emily kicks her boots off as she too lays on the edge of her bed. "Dragons seem a bit ambitious, Ellie."

"I think it sounds fucking awesome!" Kazuki chimes in as Ellie nods with enthusiasm, proceeding to then ask if anybody has a pencil that she could use. You know, so she can draw all of her sweet-looking dragons all over the walls.

Nothing that I wouldn't try to do at six years old, really.

Seeing how most of them are starting to get along (or at least tolerate each other's presence a little bit), I nod with content as I head back out into the hallway. I still need to check in on the rest of these knuckleheads before meeting with James to see who's doing what around this joint. Honestly, sometimes I'd rather carve my eyes out with a rusty spoon than have to talk to the man, but sometimes being a leader means that you've got to deal with situations that you aren't gonna like.

Hopefully his appetite for getting Lilly killed has settled down long enough for me to actually have a decent conversation with him…

Noticing that Zayne is just sitting on the floor out in the hall, plucking away at some kind of neat-looking wrist band within his hands, I curiously walk over and hover above him.

As he sees me approach, Zayne smiles lightly before fidgeting around with the object again. "It was my brother's," he explains, rubbing his thumb along the artwork as he slides it over his hand. "Honestly, I forgot that I actually had it with me the whole time. Liam gave it to me when I was small… he said that it would always bring good luck to anyone who was carrying it. I think he was bullshitting me personally, but… yeah, it's really all that I've got left of him."

Thinking about the time that Dad gave me this hat before he and Mom took off for their vacation in Savannah, I nod empathetically as he fondly looks down at the thing. I can definitely relate to that – what might seem small and insignificant to most might be incredibly valuable and treasured to others. Even the little things can make all the difference in the world. It helps remind me of what I'm really fighting for each and every day.

Mom and Dad might not be here anymore, but I keep going in part because that's what they'd have wanted for me.

"Why are you out here by yourself?" I ask as he lays his legs out flat on the dirty floor. "I thought you and Elliot were going to have a look around for a while?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Zayne tries to maintain a "cool" attitude as he points down the hallway. "He kept saying how he needed some time alone, so that's what I gave him. He's probably around here somewhere," he explains, closing his eyes for a brief moment as he turns up to look at me. "Clem?"

"Hmm?"

"How… how is it that you're never scared?"

Throwing me off guard a little bit, I find myself stumbling over my answer. Scared? Of course I am! I'm scared every damn day of my life!

"Who says that I'm not?" I respond with a light chuckle, setting myself down beside him. The laughter that I can hear through the walls from Emily, Kazuki and the rest of them manages to lift my spirits a little bit. It's a nice feeling, hearing people laugh. "Huh… I must be better at hiding it than I thought…"

"…what are you scared _of_?" Zayne probes further – why he's doing this, I'm not really sure.

Trying to pick my brain for things to say, I shrug my shoulders as I start listing off some of the stupid ones. "Spiders, for one. Sneaking into your bed at night with eight legs crawling on you while you sleep… People eat spiders without even realizing it, you know! And also polar bears, falling buildings, tight spaces sometimes…" I list off, stopping myself as he shakes his head in exhaustion. What does he want from me here? He asked me what I was afraid of, and I've delivered, haven't I?

Clearly, as he frowns lightly at the ground, that's not what he was getting at. Clearly there's a deeper meaning behind what he's saying that I'm not really getting to the heart of.

Hell… there is one thing that I'm _really _afraid of, but this might be able to count for every survivor out there now.

"Losing people is what I'm really afraid of," I admit, thinking back on all the people that I've met and interacted with over the past few years. "That's what really hurts the most… Knowing that you might wake up the next morning and lose the person that just yesterday was standing right next to you. I'm really scared of ending up by myself, with nobody around to care…"

Noticing that he's been silent for a little while now, I sigh before nudging him lightly on the arm.

"What about you?" I ask, still not sure why he asked me this in the first place. "What makes the _tough, cool Zayne _hide under the covers?"

"Haha, fuck you too…" he jokes, rolling his eyes as he stands up and walks towards the window. "…those things out there are pretty sketchy. Just thinking about turning into a walker… I couldn't even imagine what that'd be like. Did you know anyone? That got turned into… yeah, never mind. Probably better for me to stop talking…"

Thankful that he seems to get the message – I don't want to look back on that kind of thing – I too stand up and stretch out my back. Zayne must just be thinking about his family, just like the rest of us. It's probably a lot more beneficial with doing things his way, rather than just stuffing it all up inside like I have.

"I keep thinking that I'm gonna end up like all my brothers," he tells me, revealing his doubt that he's been trying to conceal from the rest of his group. "That maybe I'll wake up one morning… but not be myself, and not have any control of my body. What if… what if I get trapped in there? Would I ever be able to get out? Because so far, from what I've seen, it doesn't look that way."

"Why are you telling me all this?" I ask, trying to unravel this mystery and figure out just what's going on in that head of his. "Zayne… you're not bit, are you? Because if you are, you need to tell me right now! I can't have a bitten person living with us!"

"Stop, stop! I'm not bitten… Honest," he replies casually, eyeing my gun wearily as I slowly put it back into my pocket. "Sorry… but I just… I can't help thinking about all of that stuff, you know? Don't you ever wonder what the walkers are… thinking of?"

"…I'm not so sure that they're thinking at all…"

Nodding, Zayne runs a tired hand through his hair as he slumps his shoulders against the brick. "Maybe you're right about that," he acknowledges. "…it could be nothing; that they're dead and that that's just the way things are nowadays. But this thing you guys are doing… maybe… maybe we won't need to worry about it anymore. Maybe we can really set things back to normal and forget about all of these dead guys walking around. I'd… _sigh, _I'd really like to think that that'd be true…"

As he solemnly turns back to the window, blocking me out of his line of sight, I hesitantly lower my guard before walking down the hallway and heading towards Lilly and Jane's room. Well, that was… weird. I mean, I knew that he was kind of a loner and had some dark thoughts to begin with, but it almost seemed as though he's been _constantly _going over that stuff since the beginning.

There's no need to be so sad all the time now, Zayne! Life's too short to be depressed every single minute of the day!

* * *

"I've already dealt with enough headaches today… I don't need to add two more to the mix!" Jane complains, sitting in a chair next to Lilly's bed as she frowns at two more newcomers to our team – Kelly and Katie, to be exact. "I thought you said that you had things under control back there! What happened at the construction site? Did you accidentally fill your hole with cement or something?"

"This wasn't our first choice, believe me. I'd rather be as far away from you as possible," Katie snarkily replies – not angrily, but not exactly giving you the warm fuzzies either. It's more like a semi-cold indifference. "But… there were actually more walkers than we had really anticipated beforehand. A _lot _more – we got overrun and barely escaped."

"Figured that since your friend made that offer before, maybe we'd be able to take y'all up on that?" Kelly suggests, glancing down at the sleeping form in the bed with a tired frown. "This must be the girl you were talking about. Glad to see you ended up finding her."

Looking for something snarky to say, Jane huffs and simply mutters "thanks" before turning back to tend to her so-called patient.

Ahh, Jane… always good for a verbal scrap when you need one! No matter what time of day, no matter what circumstances we might be in, she's always at the helm, ready to trash-talk anybody if the need arises.

Maybe I should send _her _in to talk to James right now, instead of having me go in. I bet she'd really get a kick out of dealing with the guy who'd rather see Lilly get decapitated than have to live with her under the same roof.

To be fair though, if I recall correctly, that's actually how Jane and Lilly thought of each other at one point, so who knows? They might get along better than you'd think they would!

…oh who am I trying to kid? Let's just get this shit out of the way already…

With Lilly finally being able to sleep soundly (although with all the noise that Jane, Kelly and Katie are making it's difficult to see how that's even possible), I take in a big breath before stepping inside of the guy's office; smiling at Bo as I close the door behind me. Taking a chair, I sit down and fold my hands together as James fumbles around in a filing cabinet.

"They seem like an alright bunch, I suppose," Bo remarks as he rests his handless arm upon his chair. "Some of them might take some getting used to, but I'm sure we're not gonna have much of an issue there."

Scoffing, James pulls out a pen and a bent sheet of blank paper as he writes the title at the top of the page – _FIREFLY POSITIONS_, written in big bold letter across the top. "We already had enough issues with people _before _these guys came in… If they're even a fraction of how shitty the ones we have already – "

"James, that's enough…" I interrupt, glaring at the man in an effort to shut him up. "Yeah, I get it. You hate Lilly and Jane's guts. But do you really have to keep bringing that up _every time _you talk to me? You know how I feel about them… could you try to say that stuff somewhere else? Please?"

Getting a nod from Bo as a signal to drop it entirely, James sighs and shrugs his shoulders; not verbally answering me but signalling that he'll comply. That's all I want – I know that what Lilly did was totally wrong, and that she was being completely stupid for bringing Debbie's death up like that. But would it really kill him to not bring every conversation down about how much he despises the people that he's working with? I'd take even one day of peace – that's it! One day of not listening to him rip on Lilly and Jane, and then I'd be totally satisfied… at least on that account.

James' extra-curricular activities are still another matter entirely.

"We're just gonna go over a few positions for now. For some of the more specific jobs, we're going to have to ask around," James explains, tapping the desk with the pen. "So… what is it we're gonna need out here? I've got the medical part down pat, but it wouldn't hurt to have an extra pair of hands in case things get a little bit hectic."

"Medical aid – sounds doable," Bo agrees, looking as though he's about to suggest something else. "Maybe we should have a couple of runners on reserve to go into the city for supplies – preferably some people who know the area well."

"That sounds like a job for you, Bo," I mention, cringing as he looks ready to argue with me. "I think Zayne knows some of these places, too. He can help you out…"

"I'm on lookout patrol – as I've _always _been!" Bo insists, looking shocked as James and I both shake our heads. "Seriously?! What the hell is the big deal here?! I can still shoot with the best of them! I… I'm not gonna be a damn _runner! _I'm built for long-distance shooting! Not long-distance _sprints!_"

Carefully and calmly placing a hand on his knee, I try to put all of this as nicely and delicately as possible. James and I both know that Bo's gonna feel like a useless sack of shit with him not being able to be at his post any longer, but that couldn't be any further from the truth. Lee managed to crawl his way through Savannah with only one arm and still come to save me, so there's no reason that Bo can't be just as capable as he was.

I've got full confidence in him.

"What if I took over? You've shown me practically everything I know about being up there in the eagle's nest," I suggest, but feel slightly dismayed when the men immediately shoot that idea down.

"We need you down on the floor with the rest of us – you've gotta be down here making sure shit doesn't turn sideways," Bo disagrees, looking upset at the fact that he won't be able to handle those big rifles anymore. "If you guys really don't think that I can do it anymore, then… well… what about, umm… Lilly?"

"Fuck no!"

"James, what did I say?!" I shout, getting angry at his bitter resentment towards my friend. This hostility has got to stop, and it has to be right now! "Bo's right! Besides him, Lilly's the next best shot in the group! When she gets better, that's where she's going, alright?! You should be happy – she'll be way up on the roof and you won't even have to see her anymore!"

James definitely harbors an intense grudge still, and probably will continue to do so for the rest of his days, but thankfully (for all of our sakes) he bites his tongue and cleans the lenses on his glasses by blowing hot air onto them – I suppose he does that kind of thing when he's trying to blow off steam.

Now if he could only destroy that intense level of anger all the time, _then maybe _the two of us would be able to get along better.

Why can't we all just get along and be the best of friends?

* * *

"Construction crew: Alden, Elliot, Emily, Racheal…" I read off, sitting cross-legged on my bed in the room that I'm now sharing with Ellie. It feels kind of wrong to be here, you know? It's like somehow I'm squandering Riley's memory or something by taking over her spot in the room, but Ellie seems to like having somebody else to be with. She even called me her "sidekick" a little while ago.

Heh… yeah, I'll give you that one, kiddo. Being the hero definitely isn't all that I thought it'd be cracked up to be. How about she takes over the leadership duties for a little while?

"Lookout: Lilly. Runners: Bo, Zayne, Kazuki, possibly Jane," I chuckle as I read the last name. You should've seen the look on her face when James told her that – she was _pissed_. _I work better alone, _she told us as she blew a raspberry. It took quite a bit of convincing, but we managed to give her a secondary job that would probably suit her interests more closely. "Hunters: Jane, Katie, possibly Tommy. Med Team: James, Kelly. Planning and foreign affairs: Clementine, Bo, James, Tommy, Lilly, Jane."

"Clem?"

Putting the paper back down onto a small dresser drawer to the right of me, I look over as Ellie sits on the edge of my bed; swinging her legs back and forth.

"What's shakin', Ellie?"

"Well… I just wanted to know… what was school like?" she asks in curiosity, having not having gone herself. I didn't have a whole lot of experience there myself, but if it'll satisfy her curiosity…

"I don't remember much – I was just finishing up first grade when all of this started happening."

"Yeah, but what _do _you remember?" she inquires as I shimmy on over beside her. "Mommy never told me before, and I never knew my Dad so that was no help…"

Gulping, my fingers trail over the folded-up note in my pocket; just begging for me to grasp onto the damn paper, pull it out and finally reveal what happened to her Mom in that fishing store.

But there's no way that she'd be able to understand – Riley's death she had seen with her own eyes, but for me to shatter her world and tell her that I found her Mom dead? That'd be a little too much for her to handle, I think… at least for right now.

When she's older, we'll talk about her mother. I promise.

"Well… there were teachers, homework, recess… friends," I recall, thinking back to the glory days of grade one back in Atlanta. "It wasn't nearly as bad as I made it out to be. I actually kind of miss it."

"I wish I could've gone – I haven't learned a whole lot of stuff…" she reveals to me, but I bring her in a little bit closer as I reassuringly pat her on the shoulder.

"You know what you need in order to survive," I encourage, trying to make her feel a little more confident in herself. "That's probably the most important lesson of all of them, Ellie. Think of all the other ones that didn't know that kind of thing!"

"Maybe… but I kind of wanted to learn math, too."

"Trust me," I chuckle, shaking my head in disagreement, "you _really _don't."

Ellie yawns as she brings her sleeve up to cover her mouth; having it roll down as the bite wound appears in front of me. I can't help but sigh as I try to keep my thoughts to myself – it's still hard to believe that something like this is actually possible. The bite's undoubtedly going to leave a scar that'll stay with her for the rest of her days, and it's already looking all bubbly and gross.

I keep this to myself, however, as Ellie scowls at her forearm and winces as she slightly touches the wound.

"Don't pick at it, alright?" I suggest, snatching her hand away and putting it down in her lap. "You wouldn't want it to get worse…"

"Why do I have to keep hiding it? It's ugly, but isn't your friend a doctor?" she asks, hitting the nail on the head even though I won't admit it. "Isn't he supposed to help people? He could fix it, right?"

I can't help but clench my fist tightly as she asks me that question, and my breath hitches in my throat as I try to hold back some tears. I hate this… I'd give anything – _anything at all_ – for Ellie not to be in this shitty, awful situation that she's been placed in. Why did she have to be born like this? Why couldn't it have been somebody else instead?

"…he wouldn't know about how to deal with this sort of thing," I continue the lying spree; feeling very little remorse for doing so. "No, we can't tell anybody, Ellie. Not one person – just keep it hidden, okay? Make sure you've got that shirt on whenever you go out, and make sure that you're checking in with me all the time. You got that, kiddo?"

"But why do I – "

_Clang!_

Practically wrenching my neck as I slowly turn my head towards the door, I widen my eyes in absolute shock, terror and horror as Zayne stands there; looking as happy and thrilled as a juiced-up leprechaun.

No…

"Holy shit… Is… is that a bite?!" he exclaims, rushing towards Ellie as he glances at her arm in disbelief. "This… it looks old! I can't even… this is unbelievable! This could be exactly what we need!"

I…I…

"I've gotta… I've gotta tell James! He needs to know about this! We could all be saved!" he laughs heartily, hugging my shoulders as he tries hard not to lose his shit over how awesome he thinks this is. "Clem! You don't have to even look anymore! We… we can finally _live _again!"

My whole body is literally shaking. I can't say a damn word – no words can come out of my mouth with how dry it's become, and a cold sweat is forming from underneath my hat.

I'm scared. I'm absolutely fucking terrified. What am I scared of, Zayne? Isn't that what you had asked me earlier?

Right now, I'm scared of _you_.

When my body refuses to move and cooperate, Zayne just chuckles and pats me on the arm. "Too shocked to speak, huh? No worries – I'll go let him know."

Horror-stricken, I watch as Zayne jogs towards the door with a bounce in his step. By the time he gets out into the hallway, _that's _when my legs stop being made of orange Jell-O.

He can't… Oh god…

_You know what you have to do – end this, right now, _Carver commands me, pointing to the door as the dark version of Kenny, Troy and the stranger yell at me to get off my ass and follow that bastard out there.

Silently, I snatch Ellie's switchblade up, push her down on the bed and sprint to the door; locking it behind me and not having to worry about her getting out. She doesn't know how the locks work here yet.

Like a violent, angry choir of disturbing voices, I hear the shouting of nearly every lost, ghostly and frightening person that I've ever come across – all of them telling me the same thing…

_GO! KILL…. KILL… KILL HIM… KILL HIM NOW! BATHE YOUR BLADE WITH HIS BLOOD! _

_You don't need to tell me, _I think darkly as I hide the switchblade under my sleeve. I have become truly lost beyond all sense of reason and control. _I'm sorry… but this needs to end before it even begins…_

* * *

….everything's ready. I think… I think that I'm absolutely going insane with this, but my brain doesn't seem to care. All I can keep thinking of is that little girl in my room, and how much danger she's gonna be put in if word gets out around the space centre.

With Zayne in my sights, I know exactly what it is that I have to do.

"It'd help if I actually knew where the guy was…" Zayne says to himself, scratching his chin as he tries to find his way around; stumbling in the dark. The electricity hasn't worked for while now, but tonight I consider that a blessing.

Nobody can know… nobody can see…

The boy tries to open one of the doors but gets discouraged as it's already locked up tight. With a slight frown, Zayne turns around and nearly has a heart attack when he sees me standing there right behind him; my eyes wide open and staring a gaping hole right through him.

"Isn't this exciting?! It's just… god, man! I can't even believe it! Right here!" he whispers, pointing to the ground as I continue not to say a word. The guy remains oblivious as ever; totally enraptured by the prospect of letting every single person in here know of Ellie's dark and miraculous secret. "You wouldn't happen to know where James' office is, would you? We've gotta tell him! This could save all of our lives!"

_Not yours…_

Shakily pointing in the completely wrong direction, Zayne nods eagerly as he starts heading down the corridor. I'm leading him to a dead end on purpose. Nobody can hear what's about to happen – not yet, anyways.

Internally apologizing over and over again, I rest the switchblade in the palm of my hand and hide it from plain sight. The tint of the metal as I flick the thing open flickers in the moonlight as I silently approach the guy from behind.

Confused, Zayne gets to the end of the hallway and stops when he sees that there's nowhere else he can go… and nowhere that he can escape from me. He tries patting the walls down to see if there's a switch or a door handle or something for him to find, but he won't be locating anything like that tonight.

_Do it, _Carver demands, egging me onwards as he stands there along the wall with a sickening satisfaction.

"…Zayne?"

Turning around, the thirteen year old boy can't even utter a sound before the switchblade is buried deep through his chest cavity; sending blood all over his shirt as I yank the thing out and strike again. I attack him with blinding rage and intense fury, and I find myself slowly losing what's left of my humanity each time that I swing down. All the guy wanted to do was save us and live a life without having to worry about the walkers anymore, and I've just snatched that hope away from him. As if I'm pounding on a drum, I bang my fist down on top of him as my strikes become less frequent.

The blood squirts out like a leaky faucet as Zayne is knocked back against the wall; eyes wide and mouth agape as if he's asking, "Why? What did I ever do to you?"

As the life drains away from the kid, the second part of my task commences. I can't let _anybody _find out about this… _murder_… so I need to doctor the crime scene somewhat. I need to make it look as though it wasn't me who just killed Zayne in cold blood.

Eyeing his hand, I sigh shakily as I lift it up to my head level…

…and take a great, big chomp on it within my teeth.

Like a vampire in the middle of the night, I bite down onto the boy's hand as if I'm trying to rip apart a piece of meat. I nearly gag as Zayne's blood enters my mouth, but once I've made a good enough dent in the boy's hand, I let go and spit the disgusting liquid out onto the floor.

My entire body violently shakes and buckles as I sit along the wall; awaiting the transformation that'll undoubtedly occur soon.

This has all happened so fast… one moment I'm talking to Ellie about my short time spent at school, and the next I'm killing an innocent – no, never mind. If I continue to think that way, then I'll really and truly end up getting myself killed. Nobody's hands are clean out here anymore. You can't be an innocent bystander when you're out there trying to survive.

But this right here? This might just be one of the worst things that I've done in a very, _very _long time.

…the frightening thing though is how easily I was able to pull it off. The idea came to me as naturally as going to eat breakfast in the morning.

When the boy's eyes twitch once a few minutes have passed, I hold the switchblade again and get set for part three – putting myself in danger.

"H-HELP! SOMEBODY! ZAYNE'S TURNING!" I shriek down the hallway, allowing the walker to fall on top of me as I lightly pound on his chest again; making it seem like these are fresh wounds instead of killing blows.

"SHIT!" Jane yells out, rushing up towards me and tossing Zayne off as I crawl backwards. Pulling out her knife, Jane stabs the walker in the back of the head as it falls back to an early grave. My breathing quickens as I truly take in the abomination that I've just performed.

I'm a murderer.

"…Clem? You alright?" Jane asks me, although her words along with everyone else's are starting to become a big blur in my ears. There's too much going on inside of my head right now to form a coherent sentence, so I just nod and allow her to lightly hug me. God… even when I'm in the morally wrong, Jane's still going to be there to help me through it.

I don't deserve such a good friend. Not anymore.

Emily sobs over the loss of the poor kid; holding his head against her chest as she rocks him back and forth like a caring parent. Elliot collapses to his knees in front of the body as Kelly covers her mouth and tries not to appear as visibly upset as she actually is. I refuse to look at James or Bo, but I'd imagine that they're just trying to give the grievers their much-needed space. Racheal's examining Zayne's arm; stating that there's a bite on his hand as she too sorrowfully looks on at the gruesome scene.

"Sixteen…" she breathes out, looking over at me briefly before turning back to her friends. "That's sixteen friends gone now... How could this have happened… What the hell was he thinking? Coming out here alone…"

"Clem… you're not bit or anything, right?" Jane questions, sporting a temporary look of relief as I shake my head. Everything's still spiraling out of control inside my brain, so without another word I stand up and silently walk down the hallway; making sure that she isn't following me as I head down the stairwell.

Once I get outdoors and feel the cool, night air whip across my face, I start having a mini panic attack as I truly take in what I have just done. Clutching onto a street lamp, I slide down the rusting, metal surface as I fall to the pavement; bawling my eyes out as sobs erupt within my body.

"I'm so sorry… I'm sorry… I've been _bad_," I cry out, glancing down at my hands with utter horror and disgust. "I'm no better... than any other bad guy we've seen... I'm even **worse!**" I hate myself right now – what did Zayne ever do to deserve this? All he wanted was… was to take Ellie away from me…

I made a solemn vow to her that I'd never let them get their hands on her – not today, not ever.

And deep in the back of my mind, as I sit here crying in the streets and begging for forgiveness, I realize a simple truth:

This is the world we live in now. I will lie, cheat, steal and murder… as long as it keeps my family safe.

That's all that I give two shits about anymore.


	13. Scouting

_**CLEM'S AGE: FOURTEEN (14)**_

_**Bo's POV**_

_Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…Tick…_

"Are you literally going to stare at that thing _all _day?"

Audibly sighing, I glance over my shoulder as Tommy looms over the table; eyeing our laid-out plans like a hawk as he scrutinizes over every minute detail. His blonde hair is partly tucked back behind his ears with the rest of it looking like a lion's mane. The light red shirt he's got on has been tarnished by oil grease and a bit of mustard from the dinner the other night (as we had somehow managed to find an unopened package of hot dogs beforehand), but I still don't think that he's even noticed it yet. The man's been occupying himself for weeks with our plans to move into the surrounding states, hardly ever eating or sleeping unless his body can't take it anymore.

And he's telling _me _to take it easy? Ha!

I'll indulge him for a little while, though – seeing's how I really should be getting out of this place. Trust me, the last thing I want to do here is sit around idly all day long, but what choice do I have? We're all stocked up for a solid month and a half at least, and a bunch of our people are out on scouting missions and whatnot. So much for having a lookout up on the roof 24/7. The walkers have largely disbanded or have been killed off in and around Houston, and as far as we're away the city is completely under our control.

Placing the antique clock face down on the desk, I crack my neck before taking a seat close to Tommy. It takes a full minute of silence for him to finally look up at me. "What is it?"

"You told me not to stare at the clock, so here I am."

"Yeah…" he acknowledges, looking at me like I'm an idiot, "and that generally implies that you find something _better _to do."

"Well, when you figure that out, come right out and tell me. I'll be ready for whatever menial task you throw my way," I tell him, closing my eyes and leaning back in the chair in a relaxed pose. "Whenever you're ready, just give the word. Any day now… any time at all, I'm not picky… Come on…"

Opening one eyelid, I frown in slight annoyance when I notice that he's not even looking at me anymore. Clearly my pesky behaviour hasn't swayed him at all. Either he's used to my antics, or he just straight up doesn't give a shit about having me loitering around now. These days he probably wouldn't even get surprised if I called him a white-trash hobo with a shotgun… long story, don't ask.

"What are you up to over here, anyways?" I question, looking over his shoulder to find that it actually _isn't _plans for the base here that he's looking over. "_Hydroelectric Dams for Dummies… _Tommy, if you're looking to put a moat around the space centre this week, it ain't happening! At least not without a bunch of alligators to swim inside the water, at least."

"…what if we could have power again?" Tommy remarks, flipping the page to a picture of the Hoover Dam out along the Colorado River. "We wouldn't need to live in the dark anymore, and I'd sure as hell rest easier knowing that this place is somewhere we could stay for the long haul. Didn't you say you folks had some sort of power grid out here beforehand?"

"Our generators ran most of the show out here, but we stopped maintaining them after the raid," I remind him, watching as he turns away in slight embarrassment. That night's still very much fresh in my mind, despite it being well over a year ago now. "Haven't been down there since – the whole room is probably covered in dust by now."

"Mind if we go take a look? It'll give you a chance to stretch your legs out a little bit!" he chuckles, swinging a shotgun over his shoulder as I nod.

"Sure thing, but it'll have to wait a bit. I've gotta talk to James first," I explain, hoping to god that he's in a better mood today than last night. He had one of his little _episodes _again, only this time taking his anger out on his best friend instead of just screaming into a pillow or something. He never told me why he was pissed – just shouted at me to leave him to his work and slammed the door in my face. "Gimme an hour or so – I'll meet you in the basement."

"Alright, don't dally too long though, you hear? I can only keep my attention span going for so long!"

Giving him a joking salute, I turn on my heel and head out of the board room; sighing as I pass by the permanent blood stain that's been etched into the tile floor. Poor kid… Zayne didn't even stand a chance, and this serves as a painful reminder to every one of us every single time.

Racheal and Emily won't even come up to the second floor hardly at all, but I do catch Elliot sometimes just sitting right on the floor over here; minding his own business and just… staring. Kelly seems to think that that's just how he's chosen to grieve over things, but I'm not so sure.

Something about that night still haunts me even to this day, but I've chosen to keep it to myself for nearly two whole years.

Zayne's death seemed really odd to me.

_Knock-knock-knock!_

"Jim?" I holler through the door, typically only using that name when it's just him and I around. He hates it when others call him that. "It's me – are you gonna let me in, or should I be breaking down the door?"

Hearing nothing but furious pen writing as I press my ear up to the door, I fumble around in my pocket for my set of keys when I realize the doctor won't be answering me. Stubborn, old fool… he works far too hard and takes breaks that are far too short. It's the complete opposite of me – I think my ideal would be somewhere in the middle. Nothing so boring that it feels monotonous, but nothing so time-consuming and busy that I get a headache every single hour of the day. A nice balance would be nice.

"Fucking… need to get this fixed…" I mutter under my breath, already having enough trouble opening it as it is with one arm. I practically have to body check the doorway as I finally get it open, and inside sits James; looking ready to pull the hair out of his head if the guy actually had any. "You still acting like a little princess, or am I in the clear now?"

"Just close the door behind you…" he replies, not looking up from whatever it is he's scribbling down. There's a whole mountain of crumpled-up pieces of paper overflowing in his trash bin in the corner, and I pick one of the papers up as I try to make sense of this chicken scratch.

Hmm… looks like some kind of strange mathematical formula which I've got no clue what it means.

However, I do know what all of this is supposed to be _for_.

"This is ridiculous – two damn years and we're barely farther than where we before," he murmurs, rubbing his exhausted eyes underneath his glasses. "I lost _another _test subject yesterday! Another one! Do you know how hard those are to come by now? Everybody who lived in Houston left already!"

"…how old was he? The person you tested on, James. What age?"

Deeply sighing, James shakes his head with a guilt-ridden conscience. "Couldn't have been in his twenties yet…"

"Jesus fucking Christ, James! We talked about this!"

"I can't work with corpses here, Bo! It doesn't work that way anymore!" James snaps back, even though I can tell that he feels awful about doing that to a kid. "I knocked him out beforehand, okay? You think I _enjoy _doing this kind of thing?! I loathe it, and I hate myself every single day for continuing! But don't forget – you're the one who _told me _to keep going with the research! So don't you come in here and start giving me hell for this, alright?! I don't need to hear it!"

Crap – I suppose he's got a bit of a point there, doesn't he? Fuck… why can't there just be another way?! We've been keeping this a secret from everyone else (including Clementine, although I think she might be starting to realize what's going on), but even I don't know what James is really up to half the time anymore. This isn't a regular occurrence, mind you – we only take those who would mean to do us harm.

But what problem could some random kid have caused?

"…I need syringes," James reveals to me, having calmed down a little bit as he lifts up the stack of paper he's been doodling with. "I should've asked before Clem and the others left for Oklahoma, but I'm completely out. I need them for shots – actual _medical _shots, not the ones you're thinking of, surely. Syringes, pills and bandages to treat people's wounds. Speaking of which…"

Reluctantly, I bring up my severed limb as I place my arm on the table; undoing the wrap around my wrist as James inspects it for me. James insists that we just do these "Health and Safety" checks as a precaution in case anything gets worse, but nothing's changed ever since I lost it.

Well, other than the fact that my left arm has suddenly gotten much more jacked than my right one has. It's kind of hard to do things when one of your hands has been chopped off.

"Can't even feel my fingers anymore," I mention as I shake my head. "No pain, no muscle memory… nothing. It's almost as if I didn't have a hand there at all."

"Other than the scarring, you can't even tell that anything happened to you. That's a good sign – it means your body's getting used to it, and you might start feeling more comfortable doing things from now on."

"Oh, believe me," I firmly disagree, "there's nothing comfortable about it. Don't suppose you have an extra one laying around – "

When James looks at me sternly, that's when I know that I've crossed the line. Too soon for dead jokes… too fucking soon…

"I wanted to talk to you about something else actually…" I continue, watching his handiwork as he ties the wrap tightly around my wrist with care. "It's about what happened to… to the kid…"

"Who, Ellie? Did she start bugging Kazuki again?" James jokes, but no – that's not the person that I'm referring to.

"Zayne," I correct myself, noticing his confused expression as I report my inner thoughts. "…did you notice anything off about his death that night? I mean, sure he turned and everything… but the bite we found? On his hand? It didn't even look that old! People don't turn that quickly!"

Putting one finger up for a moment, James stands up to look through the cupboards; doing an inventory check to make sure that there aren't any more missing medical supplies. "I know that," he tells me over his shoulder. "But it doesn't exactly matter _now_, does it? The boy's dead – there's nothing we can do to bring him back to life."

"Don't you get the feeling that something was going on?"

Satisfied with the count, although undoubtedly wishing that he could have a better stock, James shuts the cupboards back up before pulling a tack out of his desk and sticking the list of supplies he needs on the door. Whether anybody will actually notice it is up for debate.

"I think the better question here," he states, "is why have you waited two years to bring something like this up? Why ask me about Zayne's death now?"

"I… look, some things I just wanted to keep to myself. Things were hectic enough as it was, and I didn't want to spark anything after the group had lost so much," I excuse myself, thinking that maybe that could've been the wrong idea. "There weren't any signs of forced entry – I locked all of the doors to the outside myself. And there weren't any walkers around, unless he got in somewhere that he wasn't supposed to…"

"So what are you suggesting then? That it was one of us who killed that kid?"

"It's a possibility we can't ignore… but you didn't hear it from me," I reaffirm, wanting to make it perfectly clear on that account. I don't want to go start spreading rumours around when I no longer have any real evidence left to support my suspicions, and I don't want to start getting a reputation for being some sort of traitorous gossip around here.

Besides… I've kind of got a vague idea of who it might be, and they're miles away from here right now.

I really don't want to be right about this hunch. Maybe, for now at least, I should just keep this to myself.

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

"_Uhh… breaker-breaker, this is Eagle Two radioing in. Please respond, over."_

Oh for crying out loud! What could they possibly want now?! Whatever problem this turns out to be, it damn well better be a life-threatening one! These walkie-talkies don't have unlimited usage, you know!

Keeping one hand on the wheel, I press the button and bring the receiver to my mouth. "What do you want now?"

Hearing some giggling on the other end of the line, I frown in annoyance as Racheal tells Kazuki to stop whispering so loudly. Emily responds through the second radio as I hear the fuzzy sound coming in through the little speaker on our device. It's a piece of junk, really, but as long as it can make at least _some _contact then that's all that matters.

That, and the fact that I no longer have to pay long-distance charges on a cell phone bill anymore.

"_There's a distraction up ahead, over. Preventing us from driving safely," _she states, thinking that she sounds all professional and such by the way she's speaking. Trust me, if you tried to radio in somebody back at Warner Robbins when you really had no idea what you were doing, they'd probably make you run ten miles just to get the message through your head. Don't screw around!

Feeling slightly concerned, however, I briefly glance over at Jane in the passenger's seat as we try to scan up ahead – looking for walkers, wildlife, people, giant death robots, whatever.

Annoyed, I roughly snatch the stupid thing back up and get ready to tell Emily that she's full of shit. "We can't see anything from up here, Em. What are you looking at?"

"_It's you and Jane actually," _Emily explains dumbly, causing me to snarl lowly. _"All we can see from our car is the two of you making out in the front seat – all lovey-dovey and stuff. Very distracting stuff indeed. You should probably be focusing on your driving, over."_

Having more than enough, I toss the piece of junk back for Ellie to toy around with, roll down my window and give them the middle finger as I hear them all laughing hysterically over the radio.

"Calm down, Lils. They're just having a little fun," Jane chuckles, patting my shoulder as I swerve the car side to side. Maybe if I do this enough, then they'll crash into a pole and get stuck there for a few good hours – they wouldn't be laughing then! "Let them have their kicks – sticks and stones, remember?"

"Pfft, easy for you to say! You're not the one constantly asked if you can hear properly all the time!" I complain as I self-consciously brush a piece of hair over top of my damaged earlobe. "They're driving me bonkers! The teasing never stops with them! And you just sitting there taking it all in isn't gonna make them stop any time soon!"

"Would you get a grip, babe? The only reason they're egging you on is 'cause you _let them! _You're making yourself an easy target, so just chill!"

Hearing Alden groan from the back seat, I glance in the mirror as I see his grumpy form sit up from his relaxed position. "Geez… mind keeping it down already?" he requests, having already driven part of the way here in the first place. "Seriously, you two bicker like an old married couple!"

Smirking to myself slightly, I glance over at Jane affectionately as she leans her head against the side window. I won't ever get over how lucky I managed to become by meeting this wonderful creature so long ago now. We've both gotten a little bit older, but besides a few wrinkles on my forehead and some worry lines already starting to form on Jane's perfect face, I'd say we barely look as though we've aged a day.

Quite an accomplishment from all of the stressful anxiety that we endure almost daily.

"Well," I mumble, thinking that nobody's really listening at this point, "we're not that old yet…"

"…wait, what? WHAT?! YOU'RE MARRIED?!" exclaims Clementine from the back seat as the two of us widen our eyes. Oh shit – we're so busted. "Why wasn't I invited?! I didn't get to do the flower girl thing or even sit in the front row watching you two make kissy faces at each other! Ellie, did you know about this?"

"I had no idea either!"

Chuckling to herself, Jane turns her body around to address the curious and disheartened girls sitting right behind us. "It wasn't really that kind of marriage, kiddo," she explains, showing her the ring that I gave her as Ellie pulls her finger closer towards her. "We kind of wanted to keep it under wraps, you know? Make it a little secret thing… we're not big on huge celebrations."

"Well… aww! Damn it!" Clem whines humorously, having been nearly the first thing she's said since we left yesterday. She's been acting really quiet and reserved, but that's not exactly anything new. Her personality has largely stayed the same over the past few years. "I would've at least tried to make you a cake or something, like seriously!"

Glad to see that she's not totally dead inside just yet, I switch lanes as we roll on down the highway at around eighty miles per hour. Occasionally I'll speed it up even further, but we're not exactly in a huge rush right now. We've got know idea what we're going to encounter once we reach Tulsa.

Hopefully this place won't be as much of a bust as Oklahoma City ended turned out to be – Zayne definitely wasn't lying back then. The place was practically flooding at the seams with walkers.

The past two years have been… well, I'd call it pretty peaceful and much smoother sailing than we had before, but Clementine definitely doesn't seem to think so. She never seems to be satisfied with herself; always mentioning how she should be doing better than she already has. We may not have expanded out into the southern states as quickly as she may have liked, but I think she's done a decent job. We haven't heard anything from Tracy, Josh and the rest of those thugs, but even Alden's got no idea where they may have gone off to.

As long as they stay far away from us, then that's really all that I'd care to find out.

"We should make camp before sundown," Jane advises to which I definitely could agree. We're all physically exhausted after this long trek into the Sooner State. "If there's an off-ramp or anything like that, we should probably pull over and look for a gas station or something. I don't like the idea of just stopping on the side of the highway."

"You just don't wanna sleep in the car again, do you?" I question, grinning as I already know the answer. "Thought so. Ellie, could you tell them we're taking a right as soon as we spot a chance to get off the highway?"

"Sure!" she chirps back to me, muttering into the walkie-talkie as I move away from a broken-down tanker truck. "Katie says that we need to keep moving…"

I hold out my hand to take the thing back from the eight year old girl, but Clementine beats me to it as I slowly retract my arm. Looks like the big boss lady's got this under control now.

"Give it here, I'll talk to them," she says as she pops her head out the window for a brief moment. "Katie? Tell Elliot to make a right – we're making camp. Tulsa's not going anywhere – pull over."

"_We're making good time, Clementine! We can't slow down now!"_

"I wasn't _asking _you, I was _telling _you," Clem retorts firmly, every day sounding more like a leader than the day before. "Pull over now – it'll be good to stretch our legs and get some sleep. I promise we'll be up again at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning."

"You tell 'em, Clem…" Jane mutters so that only I can hear.

They grow up so fast, don't they?

* * *

"You know, I'll say one thing about sleeping outdoors," Elliot remarks; a slight grin on his face as we all gather around in a circle. We decided not to have a fire tonight as to not attract too much unwanted attention. "Aside from the bugs, dirt and having to sleep next to you assholes, you can't really replace that view. Just look at that sky…"

"You are so corny, Elliot…" Emily lightly remarks, though everyone's attention is up at the stars so nobody really acknowledges it. As Jane pulls her knees to her chest, I absentmindedly grab onto her hand and lightly stroke it back and forth like a wave on the ocean. She's told me before how that really puts her at ease, and I've found that that goes both ways.

The only ones who aren't really here right now are Ellie, who's fallen fast asleep against Racheal of all people, and Clementine, who's taken a perch up on the roof of the convenience store with a rifle in hand.

I can't help but frown upon seeing her up there; cold and all alone. She used to hate sitting off by herself back in the day, and took great strides to make sure that everyone in the group got included in whatever they were up to. Seeing her like this now, being a lot more reclusive than she once was, it's showing how much has been pushing down on her and taking its toll. It's unfortunate, and I can't help but feel partly responsible for it.

Everybody suddenly jumps when the girl fires off a bullet, but she just acts like absolutely nothing's wrong as she climbs down the ladder and stops anyone from following her.

"Touchy…" Katie remarks offhandedly, laying her legs out flat as Clementine disappears over the hill. "Remind me why she's on watch again? Wasn't it supposed to be your turn, Racheal?"

"I tried to go up there, but she kept insisting that she'd handle it. Wouldn't take no for an answer," she mentions, glancing down as Ellie tries to get back to sleep again. "And since she's not here right now, I'll be asking this since nobody else seems to have the balls to do it. How far are we willing to go for this? Is it really worth risking our own necks to try and unite a bunch of assholes out in the woods? Are we just gonna go across the States, or what's going on here?"

"Well, Racheal, let me counter that with my own question," Jane irks with a little bit of hostility. The two of them really haven't gotten along very well, and it really shows. "How far would you _like us _to go?"

"Don't be a smart-ass, alright? I'm not looking for an argument tonight," she sighs, getting the attention of everyone in the circle. "Apparently _saving the universe _is what's in right now, but is that really reasonable? What about us? We can't just keep inviting people in and expect nothing to go wrong! Trying to unite every single state is ridiculous – what's wrong with what we have?"

Giving my head a shake to keep the bangs from falling over my eyes, I clear my throat and try to explain things in simple English terms. Noooo, I'm not being sarcastic _in the slightest_.

What would've given you that idea?

"First off, you guys wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Clementine, so questioning every move she makes isn't helping," I lightly fume, keeping my usual snappiness to myself so that Jane doesn't have to try and tame the bull. "Second, unless we get the people on our side, none of this is gonna matter. Supplies don't just grow on trees, and eventually we might get close to running out. So having other groups on our side would be enough to keep it going for at least a few more years. Besides, who would try and fuck with us if we had a huge army of survivors out here?"

"We're not soldiers, and nobody's joining the army…" Kelly interjects, frowning at my choice of words. "That's not who I want to be labelled as – I'm more than just somebody with a gun out in the wastes. All of us are more than that! We've… we've still got our whole lives to look forward to…"

Aside from Elliot not really agreeing with that last part as he scoffs and shakes his head, the rest of us fall silent as Alden returns from his looting through the convenience store.

"Nothing really, except this harmonica and a few stale packs of gum," he shrugs, tossing one pack over to Kazuki and another one in Ellie's lap as she peacefully dreams. Lucky her… I'd love to be able to sleep through all of this racket we're making. "Oh, and some old winning lottery tickets, so… pick a number through one and fifty."

"Seriously? We're doing this right now?" Katie deadpans as Emily tells her to shut up. "Fine, fine… but you better have a couple million in your pocket right now! I never got to win the big one beforehand!"

Rooting around in his pocket, Alden pulls out an almost-ruined twenty dollar bill and sets it out in the middle of the circle as Katie chuckles in astonishment.

"Between one and fifty," he repeats himself, wiping off the harmonica as he hands it off to Elliot. It turns out that he was quite the little entertainer back before all of this started; playing in a small band with his buddies as they tried to pick up gigs wherever they could. "First one to get it right gets the twenty… and the other gum pack in my pocket. Go."

"Forty-seven!"

"Thirty-nine!"

"Twenty-six!"

"Damn, that was fast," Alden laughs, tossing another pack of gum over to Kazuki, who then proceeds to open it and share it with the rest of the group.

The twenty dollars, though? That she puts in her pocket – you know, for all those stores that actually accept cold, hard cash nowadays. I guess she could count it as good luck if she feels like it, but really the money has no real value anymore.

I'm starting to wonder, with all of this bartering for food and supplies that goes on these days, if money ever meant anything _back then_.

As a number of people hit the hay – enticed into a nice slumber from Elliot's soft harmonica playing – I stand up and stretch out my back a little bit.

"I'm gonna go check in on Clem," I whisper to Jane, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Want me to go with you?"

"Nah, I've got this. I'm thinking there's some things we ought to talk about," I explain, getting a knowing nod from my partner as I leave an indent in the grass. "Make sure this crazy kid over here doesn't get into trouble, alright Kazuki? No wild parties!"

Earning a soft laugh from the thirteen year old, I head off down the grassy hill in the dark to try and see where Clementine might've wandered off to. I know that she was checking in on that walker that she had killed before, but that was well over half an hour ago and she hasn't returned to the roof since.

Turns out that she's just sitting on the side of the hill; one knee bent forwards so that she won't go tumbling downwards. The walker lies dead in a pile of mud at the bottom.

"Scoot over, Corporal Clem. I don't like the idea of you being out here by yourself for so long," I order as she jumps a little bit in surprise. When she sees that it's just me and not some stranger out to come and mug her, her tension simmers a little bit as she shuffles to the side. Taking a seat beside her, I decide to use the brief moment of silence to pull out a hair tie and tie this mess back a little bit. I really need a trim soon.

Clem's is getting pretty long, too, but she's still wearing her hair back in those two pigtails that I've seen her with for so long now. To be honest, I can't even fully remember what she looked like the first time that I met her, but a lot more has changed since then besides just her looks. The sweet, innocent little girl has turned into a tough survivor and has practically undergone a complete transformation in the process.

"Aren't you cold out here?" I question as I try to untangle a few knots behind my head; noticing how her long-sleeved shirt doesn't look like it gives out much warmth. "We should probably find you something better than that. Maybe an actual jacket this time instead of that poncho thingy that you used to wear. What do you think?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Clementine just keeps on staring out in the distance. Tulsa looks so tiny from here, almost looking as though you could reach out with your hand and pick it up. The place used to be a smaller city from what I could gather from a brochure, but now it's more than likely a ghost town with only a few inhabitants. Nature, like it has in most places, has likely already started taking back what was hers beforehand. Most of the places we go to nowadays have grass and weeds forming in between the cracks in the road, and other plant life has usually started to find its way back in.

Clementine seems really distant right now – I can tell by looking in her eyes. It's kind of a weird phenomenon in some senses, what with her being so focused and on the ball when the group needs her to be, but so lost and vacant when there's nothing urgent going on.

In other words, she's here… but she's not _really _here, if that makes any sense.

"I've got a good feeling about this one, actually," I mention, pointing out to the horizon. "If Oklahoma City was a dead zone, then this is likely one of the first places people would flock to, right? We'll hit the place up first thing in the morning, find what we need and get back on our way. Depending on the gas situation, we might even be able to keep searching some of the nearby places. It's mostly farmland the further north you go, but – "

"Lilly?" she cuts in softly; a pained look on her face as she slowly takes her hat off for a brief moment. I've gotta say, she looks pretty darn cute when her hair's all curly like that. "Was it… was it this hard for you? When we were all at the motor inn?"

Taken aback, I struggle to find the right words to say as I recall my time spent as the leader of that group. Shit fell apart near the end, but I'm pretty sure we lasted for a solid six months before the end.

It actually occurs to me now – Clem and I are the only remaining survivors from that group. Everyone else is dead now, whether through dumb luck or poor planning I'm not entirely sure, but we're the last people left.

I'm sure if they were here, the majority of the motel crew would harbor a bitter resentment towards me and say what an absolutely shitty job I did, and that all they would remember is my fuck up on the side of the road. I suppose that it really makes no difference now, though.

"Some days were better than others," I shrug, having the ache of my time there dulled over the years. It doesn't really hurt me to talk about that stuff anymore. "Not everyone's going to agree with your decisions, and sometimes the people you're trying to take care of are gonna doubt your every move. But… sometimes being a bossy bitch like me helped set them straight a little bit. I wasn't out to win friends at the time…"

"…I don't think I'm the right fit for this anymore…"

Widening my eyes, I turn to see Clementine with her shoulders slouched downwards, head hanging low and eyes turning misty. What the heck happened to the confident little ball of bad ass that I saw earlier today?

…oh, I get it now. This seems all too familiar to me.

Strong when she needs to be, vulnerable when she's alone. I wonder if this happens to her a lot; if she lays awake at night just second guessing herself all the time. It must be incredibly difficult to have to act all tough and reliable in front of everyone all the time, and then to hear the kind of stuff that people say behind her back… I'm getting pissed off just thinking about it.

She deserves way better than what she's got to deal with right now.

"I-I can't do it…" she whimpers, looking distraught as I try and figure out what to do. I've never been good with this sort of thing – somebody needs to come help! "How can I lead these people… when all I do is screw things up? I mean, what the hell are we even doing out here?! I left the space centre alone with _three people _to guard it, and here I am out in some stupid field!"

"Whoa, now come on… You're being too hard on yourself, Clem. Where's all this coming from?" I question, awkwardly rubbing circles on her back as she has a little break down. "You've kept this crew together – you know that just as well as I do! Do you really think that I could've bargained with them and kept my cool with those guys down there like you did? Or Jane? Clem, the two of us can't go one whole day without getting angry about the sun coming up!"

A little bit of embellishment may have been required, but my exaggeration at least gets the giggles going from Clem through the tears.

But unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be enough.

"I've done… things… Such awful shit…" she murmurs, barely making any sense to me. Things? We've all done bad shit out here! What's so different about what she's been doing that it warrants all of this self-doubt she's been carrying? "I… I ki – "

Before she can finish, she stops as the both of us hear some kind of whirring sound through the air; almost as if the wind's being chopped up in the distance somewhere. Standing up on the hill, I cup my hand over my eyes and squint to try and figure out where that noise is coming from.

It sounds incredibly familiar…

"…what the fuck…?" I whisper, unable to believe my eyes as I point to the object flying in towards the city. "It can't be… who the hell would be flying a helicopter out here anymore?"

"Th-that means there's people out there," Clementine remarks, wiping her face with her sleeve as she springs into action. "Keep an eye on it, Lilly! Everybody, you need to wake up right now! We've got movement out there! Pack your things – we're leaving!"

That's why it was so familiar… it looked a hell of a lot like the ones kept at Warner Robbins! But where would they even find the fuel for one of those things, let alone the actual chopper itself? It seems too good to be true…

Making sure that my gun is secured and ready to go, I keep an eye on the bird until it touches down onto the roof of a building inside the city.

Time to pay these folks a visit.


	14. Dirty, little secrets

_AN: Hey y'all! I'm happy you guys seem to be so into this story right now, and thank you so much for helping us surpass 100 reviews! I'm really grateful for all of the support, and hopefully eventually we'll be able to get that number of to 200 someday… but I'm kind of jumping the gun right now lol._

_I'm going to try and update once or twice a week – that's the goal for right now. Assignments and exams are creeping along, so that stuff's gonna take priority but I'll try to crank some of these out along the way._

_Anyways, this chapter's going to switch POVs around a little bit, so I'll put them in bold as per usual so you don't get confused. We're starting to build up the community some more, so expect a lot on that stuff in the coming chapters. _

* * *

_**Tommy's POV **_

Impatiently tapping my foot as I lean against the door, I audibly groan in annoyance as I try looking down the hallway again – nothing there except toolboxes and scraps of newspapers with random splotches of paint covering the various articles and pictures. Most of this stuff has been from the construction crew setting up barricades for the windows on the main floor here, but it turns out that paint actually _does _still exist in some places around the city. Emily had a field day trying her hand at that stuff.

She's a hell of a lot more artistically talented than I am, that's for sure. I can draw stick figures… and that's about the extent of it. I could never have made the walls down here look as colourful as she managed to.

But I'm not annoyed by the mess that they've left behind. No, I'm getting agitated by a far more monstrous issue – punctuality. Bo was supposed to be here over an hour and a half ago, but he still hasn't come down from James' office yet.

I'm starting to wonder if James might have swallowed him whole and spit out his bones or something – that's a joke, you're supposed to laugh…

Oh fuck it! I'm heading in there with or without him!

Grabbing a toolbox (which I'm hoping will have exactly what I need inside), I open the door and keep a wedge stuck near the bottom so that I can see from the outside. With a little luck and a lot of skill, maybe I won't even need to do that sort of thing any longer. Maybe I can get the power working in here after all.

Hell, I was a construction worker back in the day – how hard can getting the power back on really be?

Squinting as my eyes slowly adjust to the darker environment, I nearly bump straight into a furnace type of thing sitting inside, but thankfully it's shut off. Even though it's enclosed, I still don't like the idea of messing around with heat or fire like that. Save that kind of work for somebody else.

You know, because working with electricity is _so _much safer than that.

"If I were a backup generator," I muse, literally having to feel my way around in some places, "where would I be?"

Hmm, let's see… Another furnace, some loose wires, a busted carburetor… ah, here we go! _BACKUP GENERATOR_ – looks like the right fit to me.

Blowing the dust off of the instructions that are screwed into the side of the machine, I bend down and try to make sense of how this thing is supposed to work. Looks as though it's like a lawn mower in a sense – crank the cable back and watch it sing. Pressing the start button before anything else, I grab onto the cable (which really looks more like a string than anything else) and yank it backwards; getting discouraged when nothing seems to be happening. When I try it out a few more times, I know that something's definitely wrong here.

Sniffing, I frown slightly as I pick up the scent of… rotten eggs? Aww, fucking hell! That's disgusting – what is it? It definitely wasn't there when I walked into this place.

Following my nose like a hound dog, I walk around to the back of the generator and pull out a screwdriver from my toolbox. You can always count on Handyman Tommy to come and fix your problems – just don't expect me to do any plumbing or anything like that. I think that's where I start to draw the line.

I unscrew a few bolts from the back panel here and swing the thing open, and the smell is fully revealed. Not gonna lie, it's really gross – like a combination of skunk, rotten eggs and dead animals.

"Propane…" I conclude, realizing that the smell is just the residue and that I'll need to get more in order for this baby to run properly. "You'd have an easier time finding rocket fuel at a place like this…"

Sighing, I place the tool back in its case as I pack up to leave the room. Well, at least that seems to be the only thing we're missing, although I'm not entirely sure how I'm gonna end up finding propane out here. I know that they've often got them around gas stations, but who knows if people have already taken that kind of thing already. I don't know of any vehicles that run off propane, and it's not as if people are using barbecues anymore, so perhaps there's still a chance.

I think I'll go ask Bo about it, and then I'll probably end up giving him a tongue-lashing about keeping me waiting for so long.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"Ellie? Come on kiddo, you've gotta get up!" I encourage, nudging her roughly on the side as her irises just barely become visible. Poor kid – she's barely gotten a wink of sleep in tonight at all. "We've gotta get moving, okay? Everyone's packing up their stuff."

"Mmf… huh? What?" she mumbles deliriously; rubbing her tired eyes as she blinks away the sleep. Not wanting to lose track of our target (seeing's how the whole reason of coming here was to look for other survivors), I scoop the child up in my arms as she gasps in surprise.

"Sorry…" I apologize with a slight chuckle, bringing her over to one of the vehicles as I gently place her in the back seat. "But I need you to stay awake for a little while longer. Can you do that for me?"

As I strap the seatbelt from the top of her right shoulder across and down to her left hip, I rub her head affectionately as I step back outside. Kazuki and Katie are heading with us this time around, and I lightly honk the horn once to get Lilly's attention. I know that it's kind of unnecessary, but Ellie's not the only one who's feeling exhausted right now.

I just want to find these people, talk it over and get a good night's rest. Sadly, I don't think sleep will be coming easily to me tonight.

It never does anymore.

"You know where we're going, right?" Katie inquires as Lilly appears at the top of the hill. "So we're chasing helicopters now, is that it? You're sure that it wasn't like a fucking seagull or something?"

"I don't think seagulls have propellers and metal plating on top of them – besides, the both of us saw it touch down," Lilly mutters as she opens up the front seat. "Now sit down and buckle up. Kelly, you follow in behind me and stay right on our tail, alright? I'm not entirely sure what we're gonna find once we get in there!"

Revving the engine as Jane steps in as well, Lilly turns the wheel all the way to the left as we head down the hill and through a dusty, old farmer's field to get to the city. No highway or street driving for us now – we're off-roading!

It's too bad that off-roading leads to probably the most uncomfortable and bumpy car rides you will ever experience. Up and down in the seats we bounce around; almost getting some air several times if not for the seatbelts holding us down.

"Hope you guys weren't expecting five star service or anything," Lilly comments as we run over a particularly nasty divot in the ground. "Trust me – we'll get there in one piece."

We only know how to actually _get _to the city of Tulsa, so without an inner-city map to guide us, we're relying totally on Lilly to get us over to this place. I've got a general idea of where the chopper may have landed, but that's not exactly that helpful to any of us.

"We need to be careful," Jane advises, turning to face the rest of us as she prepares some weaponry for herself. Feeling that we should do the same, the rest of us (minus Ellie, who's struggling just to stay awake) take out various pieces as we make sure our clips are as full as we can make them and that we haven't left anything on the floor of the vehicle. "Did Bo say anything about this place being a dead zone or not, Clem?"

"Only one way to find out," I cheekily reply, ready to face whatever threat there might be. I don't want anybody to die on my watch, especially if it's due to carelessness. "When we do end up finding these people, just… let me do the talking, alright?" I state, watching as Lilly eyes me from the front seat. I know that I had confided in her before about confidence issues, but I need to keep up appearances, don't I? "We just want to talk to these people – no shooting unless they try to shoot first."

As we finally manage to enter the city with hopes relatively high for a change, Lilly stops at the side of the road for a moment as Kelly comes ploughing through the field behind us. Their car's covered in dirt, mud and even some old, rotten vegetables, but we're all present and accounted for.

"The place didn't look too deep inside the downtown core. Remember the plan," Lilly mentions into the walkie-talkie; switching it off as she places the device into one of the cup holders. "If I don't like the look of these people, I'm turning this car around and heading back home. You guys can walk back!"

"I'd probably have to come back and shoot you for ditching us, so I wouldn't recommend it…" Katie mutters in a joking manner – or at least I _think _she's kidding around. It's difficult to tell with her honestly.

As the ex-military lady drives onwards, I slowly roll down my window and marvel at how quiet it is out here. Usually there's a whole manner of noises going on that make you jump in surprise and almost put a bullet in anything that approaches you, but here? You could probably hear a pin drop were it not for the engine running in the car.

_Reminds me of Savannah when we first got there_, I think to myself, almost saying it aloud but realizing that I'd be the only one who would have a clue what I was referring to – even Lilly wouldn't likely know.

"Look at this place… it's totally empty," Kazuki comments; her one good eye surveying the sidewalks for any sign of life. "Why would anyone choose to live here? I've been in the car for ten minutes and I'm already getting the creeps!"

"Eerily quiet is always better than flooded with walkers," Jane reminds us, "but yeah… ditto. This place seems a little _too _peaceful. You know what that means?"

"That… we're gonna be just peachy and have no problems at all?" Kazuki suggests, causing me to chuckle slightly at her optimism.

"Typically it means we're heading into some kind of trap… Keep your guard up."

Snorting, Katie rolls her eyes as she turns to look out the back window; waving to Kelly to let her know that she's alright. "What's with all of this ominous shit coming out of your mouth? If they're waiting for us, then we handle it, same as always," she insists, turning back around as we come a few blocks away from where we need to be. "That's one fine piece of machinery up there… could save us a lot of hassle…"

Not liking what she's suggesting, I frown with impunity as Lilly comes to a halt along the side of the road; no strings attached this time. We've made it into the city unharmed, untroubled and unannounced so far, which really is a big accomplishment given our past. I can't tell you how many times we've gotten into shitty situations with other survivors over the last couple of years – some have been bandits, others have just flat-out turned us away at the door and others have been perfectly normal, but were seen as unfit to join our group. Racheal made it pretty clear with the last batch of people that we encountered that she didn't want newbies coming into the fold, meaning nobody that looked as though they were gonna die the next day with the stupid shit they were pulling off. Not rationing their food properly and being reckless with a weapon were just a couple of examples.

Somebody else actually tried to threaten me with a water gun that he insisted was a fully-loaded magnum revolver – Katie pretty much put the guy down right then and there.

"We need some people out here guarding the vehicles – two at the least," I say as we all step outside once again. I have to keep my voice down in case some unfriendly foes decide to pop out of nowhere. "Any volunteers?"

"I can stay out here and watch Ellie while the rest of you go inside," Alden suggests, but I really don't like that idea.

"I'd rather have Ellie in with me, if that's cool with you," I disagree, but nod as Racheal and Emily step up to help Alden guard our means of transportation. "Alright, let's try and get in there somehow. It doesn't look like the place is guarded at all right now…"

I can't help but grow worried when I see that Katie is staring intently at the helicopter with a scheming expression on her face.

* * *

_**Tommy's POV **_

Okay… this is weird. Didn't Bo tell me that he was gonna be up here talking some sense into James? Well, the office is empty and the two of them are nowhere to be seen.

"Hello?" I call out, not hearing any answer as I look around the office. Torn on whether to leave the room or hang around a bit for them to come back, I go with my inner childish sense of adventure and decide to root around a little bit.

So this is James' infamous medical room, huh? I was expecting it to be a little more roomy and impressive, but I suppose the guy has to make do with what he's got. I've never really had a reason to come around here before, and I feel like a mischievous little boy with a room full of brand new toys to play with.

With a curious mind, I sit down in his office chair and start looking at the various notepads, equipment and medical supplies. James may not agree, but to me it looks as though he's got plenty of medicine to spare. I guess you can never have too much lying around, but this is still one serious stash of meds.

My eyes widen in surprise as I pick up a birth control pill bottle – an _empty _one. I'm pretty sure nobody's got a bun in the oven around here, but maybe… maybe somebody's trying to hide it from the rest of the group. I wasn't even aware that people were actually in a relationship around here, and well… Jane and Lilly are pretty much already cut off of that list for obvious reasons.

I don't want to press it though – for all I know this could've been for Debbie before she died.

Putting the bottle back where I found it, my eyes catch onto a pretty thick binder sticking out on top of a counter nearby. Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I pick it up and examine it; confused as to why James would keep something like this in here. It's got a whole bunch of medical records, but none of the people have any names. There are just numbers instead with a brief description on symptoms, reactions and… dosage? What is this? And why has James been giving these people all the exact same medicine?

"Patient Number 102…" I read aloud, using my finger to follow along, "subject has experienced tremendous initial pain… heavier dosage needed to continue testing on the brain… subject… _dead?!_" I exclaim on the last part, going over it a second time to make sure that I just read that right.

Flipping through more of the pages, I discover that there are similar descriptions for dozens of other people – all of them marked as deceased. Is this… is this James' doing?! Is it both of them?!

Or am I just reading too much into this?

"…Tommy?" Bo remarks as I drop the binder and do nothing as the pages scatter all over the floor.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

Knocking on the door three times with my pistol, I await a response from the other side. I _know _there's somebody around here – nobody just lands a helicopter and then abandons it to go do something else. That'd be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of in my entire life!

However, when nobody comes out to greet the guests, I knock on the giant steel door once again. According to Racheal, this place must've been some kind of manufacturing facility back in the day – steel-making, most likely. That actually might make this place a welcome sight for a change, instead of having us try and scavenge out fast food restaurants and banks all the time. A wad of cash doesn't exactly work that well when you're trying to fight off hordes of the undead.

Steel, though? That could be _really _useful. I know for a fact that the construction crew could use some of this stuff for steel plating around the space centre. If they had some way of fastening it to the windows, then we could be a whole lot safer than just having wooden boards encasing us from the outside world.

Still though, we can't exactly do that sort of thing when nobody's coming out to check on us, so as Jane and Lilly come over beside me, we push the door inwards until it gets stuck on a lock and chain on the other side.

"I should still be small enough to fit through," I suggest, already having made up my mind as I try to squeeze inside. "Ugh…I'll try to undo the lock on this side. Just hang tight everybody!"

"Can't exactly go anywhere out here anyways," Kazuki jokes as I start to get to work.

And oh boy is this place huge! There are conveyor belts and blast furnaces and compression units and all sorts of other technical-looking stuff that I'm not sure what their use would've been, and voila! Rows of leftover pieces of steel just sitting there in the corner collecting dust – that could be just what we need to bring back!

I'm assuming though that that stuff isn't exactly as light as a feather, so that could potentially be a problem… not to mention that it isn't actually _ours_ to take…

Focusing on getting the rest of our group inside, I frown in concentration as my fingers delicately trace over the small chain wrapped around the door handles. Whoever lived here definitely didn't want people barging in unannounced, that's for sure.

"Try the ends first," Alden mentions as he points his finger to the left. "Just close the door back up and then try unwrapping the chain near the sides of the door handle. You might be able just to swing it off that way."

"Alright," I agree with a little bit of doubt that I'd be strong enough to do this sort of thing on my own. The chain isn't very thick thankfully – about the size of a bicycle chain – but it's still made of steel, and it takes quite a lot of effort on my part as Jane and Lilly close the door shut again.

Cracking my knuckles slightly, I grasp onto the chain as hard as I can and pull backwards; not noticing that my foot has gotten caught in some kind of rope on the floor. As I place my other foot on the door to get some leverage, I yank the chain back with all my might as I fall to my butt on the floor and give my head a quick shake.

I'm about to bang on the door and tell them that the task is complete, but I'm rudely interrupted by that rope tightening around my ankle and yanking my entire body upside down. A huge box drops down as a sort of weight to drag me up into the air as I dangle precariously.

"AHHH!" I bellow as my gun falls to the floor, leaving me utterly defenseless as a trio of people come out of their hiding spots to presumably attack me. It wouldn't take much for me to get killed from up here – I feel like a damn piñata right now.

Chuckling hysterically, a young woman smirks at me as she takes a swig of alcohol and sets it down clumsily on the ground; ogling their prize as if I'm some kind of trophy. "Haha! Looks like we got one!" she exclaims while slurring her words slightly; poking me in the head as I swing back and forth. I think I'm gonna be sick up here. "That'll… that'll teach people to barge in like that, huh? They think they can just… pop in without an invitation! It's not even my birthday!"

"Luna, we're not trying to catch _people_… Fuck, now look what you've done, kid!" one of the guys say to me, urging me to hold onto the rope as he tries to set me loose. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to set this stupid thing up? Now I've gotta reset the trap and hang that pile of shit up all over again…" he mutters, though I am really not amused. The man unties a knot that's fastened around a hook thingy at the side of the door as I slowly fall to the ground. "Get up, already… I don't think you're gonna find the floor to be very comfortable."

As I go to stand at my feet, the door suddenly bursts open as Jane, Lilly, Elliot, Kazuki, Ellie and everyone else rush inside with their weapons raised straight at the three people, and unfortunately I can't get them to stand down this time. Luna giggles incessantly as she offers her alcoholic beverage to Alden, and I almost feel like laughing at the ridiculous look he's giving her.

What in the world is with these people?

"You guys sure are a paranoid bunch, aren't you?" the other boy remarks, though looking pretty pale-faced as Lilly turns his gun towards him. Emily and Racheal have just come inside too after hearing what was going on. "…do you mind aiming that somewhere else? Preferably not in my facial area? That'd be great, thanks…" he sarcastically mutters as Lilly reluctantly lowers the gun to his chest. It's not much better, but it's still something.

"What the hell was that all about?! I could've died from this stupid thing!" I demand as I brush the dust off of my knees and make my way to the front of the group.

"It's for the safety of – "

"_Safety?!_" I question with indignity. "Let me get this straight… because you three are camped out here all alone, you think it's a good idea to have a deathtrap just sitting there at your door?! This woman's drunk, for crying out loud!" I mention; Luna's eyes looking bloodshot and swimming with alcohol. "What if she stumbled over here and one of the ropes snapped? Somebody could crack their head open on this thing, and you think it's a safe thing to have?"

"It's supposed to keep out the dead, not the living!" one of the boys, who I've found out the name is Jake from Luna's incessant mutterings, informs me as he gestures to the rope. "If one of the biters somehow managed to get in here, then this thing's supposed to catch them like flies! Obviously it still needs some work if you could break in like that…"

Inspecting the rope for herself, Emily nods as she glances up at the intricate-looking mechanism that's supposedly designed to keep other people out. That's why nobody could break inside after I was hanging up there – it seems that the rope manages to shut the doors until somebody releases the person.

Alright, I suppose it's a _little _impressive, but I'm still slightly peeved.

"Why are you all still standing here? You got inside, great job. Now get out already!" Jake orders, pointing to the door as his friend rolls his eyes.

"We're outgunned here, Jake… better to just see what they want," the guy mutters, eyeing each and every one of us wearily as he mops the sweat off his brow with his shirt sleeve. "I'm Scott, by the way. Scott Adams."

"Clementine," I reply quietly, relaxing a little bit when I see that they don't plan on trying to kill us. It'd probably just mean that we'd have three more bodies to clean up afterwards regardless of what they tried to do. "This is Lilly, Jane, Ellie, Racheal, Emily, Elliot, Kazuki, Kelly and… wait a minute, where's…?"

Dreading that soft engine noise coming from up above, I clench my fists tightly as I realize what Katie's trying to do. Stealing a helicopter from a bunch of new people is _not _the way to make friends!

As Luna clues in to what's happening, she tosses her bottle on the ground as it smashes into a million tiny pieces. "NO! You ain't… you ain't taking my baby away from me!" she gargles, turning on her heel and sprinting outside. "GET TO THE CHOPPAH! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU IF YOU TAKE HER AWAY!"

"Luna, get back here!" Jake bellows after her; nearly bowling me over as he shoves me to the side. While Lilly, Jane and Ellie stay behind to check the place out (at my request), the rest of us all pile outside like a herd of elephants as I see Luna clambering up a ladder that none of us had noticed before. It's one of those fire escape ladders that can be pulled down by a lever on the side of the building. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?! Your group came to steal our only working vehicle and leave us to rot!"

"It's not like that, I swear! Katie isn't supposed to be in the cockpit!" I urge, heading up the ladder next in order to try and prevent this from turning into another brawl. What the hell is she thinking going in there?! Damn it all, Katie! I specifically told her _not _to do this!

As I finally make my way to the top of the roof, I nervously watch as Luna desperately tries to break into her own helicopter; banging on the glass door as Katie gives her two middle fingers and tightens the helmet on top of her head.

"Come out quietly and we won't kill you!" Jake warns, getting backed up by Scott as Luna finally stops hitting the side of her… umm, _baby_. It's a weird sentiment, I know. "Put your hands behind your head and step away from the controls! I'm not asking you again!"

"Katie, just do it!" Kelly groans, having to yell over the roar of the winged beast. "We can't take it, alright? Just let it go – stealing a helicopter isn't gonna give you your wings back!"

"Huh?" Kazuki questions as she looks up to Kelly inquisitively. "Wings? As in, like, a bird? Is Katie some kind of mutant super-bird or something?"

But Kelly ignores her question completely as we all watch the scene unfold. Katie, seeing that she really doesn't have a choice this time around, takes one hard look at the three strangers, puts down the helmet, switches the ignition off and calmly steps out onto the roof as if she did absolutely nothing wrong. You could almost say that she looks like this was _hers _to begin with.

Smirking towards me, Katie goes to pull out her pistol from her pocket… but thankfully stops when a bunch of us give her the stink eye. Luna rushes to try and punch in the head, but the woman just routinely steps to the side and trips her up; sending Luna to go face-first into the side of the helicopter. Graceful as a ballerina, I'd say.

"What part of don't steal the helicopter was confusing to you?!" I snap with vigor, recalling our conversation just a short while ago.

"Pretty sure I was just saving all of us the hassle of doing it later," she remarks. "This is what we _need_, Clementine. With a chopper like this, we could cover the skies and do all of this scouting bullshit in less than half the time! No more sending the whole group out to do a job that two or three could probably do!"

"It's not yours to take!"

Chuckling, Katie rubs her face tiredly as the sun slowly starts to rise in the east. "We all lie, cheat and steal to protect ourselves out here, don't we? If we tried to be _nice _and cater to every single person out here, then we'd all be dead within a week! Better these jack asses than one of us…"

As Jake and Scott order us all to get the hell out of their camp once and for all, having pretty much ruined any chance that we may have had to negotiate, I pull Katie over to the side once we get to the ground below.

"…we're tying you up," I tell her forcefully as Elliot and Emily pull a thick rope from the back of one of the vehicles and tie her hand behind her back. "Until we get back to the space centre and figure out what to do with you, you're under our watch now."

"Ha! Spoken like a true dictator, my friend! Nice to see that you're finally showing your true colours!" she tries to get a reaction out of me, and nearly succeeds as I motion for her to get back into one of the cars with my pistol out for reinforcement.

As she's plopped down into the seat, I narrow my eyes at her as I gesture to the rest of our crew.

"I'm doing this for the good of the group," I tell her, knowing fully well that she doesn't believe me. "Until I know that you can be trusted, you're not a part of it. You're an outsider."

"…how about I give you a piece of advice there, Clementine? Just before you go…" she remarks quietly, leaning her head against the headrest behind her. "Sooner or later, you're gonna have to grow up and realize that what I'm doing right here is saving lives. It's for the betterment of the entire group. That helicopter is a golden ticket, and you're just throwing it away," she chastises. Her voice right now is like placing an open palm on a burning stove – it's a sharp, searing pain and it hurts like hell. "The rules have changed, kid. We take what we need to survive. As long as you keep up that goodie-two-shoes attitude of yours, then we're gonna get trampled on and left to the side of the road."

Asking Racheal to watch over her for me, I turn back to Katie with a sigh and a shake of my head. "No," I disagree while placing my hands in my pocket, "there are _always _worse things than just stealing a helicopter. Trust me – you've got no idea…"

Saying nothing more in case either Racheal or Katie start asking questions, I turn back towards the building and look up to the roof. I can't really see any of them from this angle, but Scott has finally come down the ladder and jogged up beside me. I get the feeling that he's a bit more reasonable than his two companions.

It's guys like Scott that you really have to watch out for – the unpredictable ones.

"Thanks for doing that. For a second there I thought she was gonna take off into the air," he mentions, pointing back towards the tied-up Katie who's striking up a conversation with Racheal. Whatever they choose to say about me can't be any good, but I just need to follow Lilly's advice and tune it out. "Well… now that the awkwardness is out of the way, mind if I ask what you're doing out here?"

Surprised that he's actually willing to talk after that whole fiasco, I straighten up a little bit and walk with him inside; giving Ellie a side-hug as she excitedly rushes towards me.

"Come on, come on! You've gotta see this!" she encourages, grabbing my hand and trying to yank me forward. "Jane said that she and Lilly found something!"

Looks like the diplomacy's going to have to wait a little while after all, as Scott just shrugs and walks into the steel plant with us. I can't help but laugh at Ellie's enthusiasm – it's difficult not to feel all warm inside when Ellie really gets into something. Despite her extreme sleep depravity, her smile is still enough to light up the whole room.

Thinking that she might just be overreacting to some cool-looking machine or something, I casually walk over as Ellie shouts for me to hurry up. "What's all the hubbub, bub?" I ask as I see the two of my closest friends hunched over some kind of workbench of sorts. Scott seems a little anxious when he notices this, but relaxes a little bit when Jane just turns around with some kind of big map in her hands.

"Mind if I show them?" she asks the boy, to which he nods and says that as long as we don't tear the paper up, then it's fine. "Come take a look at this thing, guys! You're not gonna believe this…"

Laying it flat on the table, Jane straightens out the corners and reveals a rather large map of the United States. Not such a big deal, right?

Wrong – dead wrong, actually. This isn't just an ordinary travel map of the country, but the thing's marked down the locations of several camps spread out to the east of here.

"Jefferson City, Charleston, Ranger's Grove, Hilltop…" I read out loud, shaking my head in disbelief. Turns out that we're definitely not alone in the country as some of us were beginning to suspect. "Hunter's Retreat, Alexandria… Wellington…"

The second that I read that name, which is printed in big, bolded letters, I look up towards Jane as she sighs angrily and turns away. "Fucking…" she cuts herself off, refusing to admit that maybe we could've been wrong about the place being a fairy tale after all. "…whatever. Doesn't really matter now, does it?" she says, confusing everyone around us as I tell them to just drop it. Searching for that camp brought us nothing but problems in the beginning.

Looking at it for himself, Elliot whistles in astonishment as he widens his eyes in surprise. "Damn… looks like you guys know a lot more about the country than we do!" he remarks as Scott starts to explain himself.

"We've been collecting data and as much info as we can on what the rest of the US has been going through – Jake started a few months after the dead came back," he tells us, tracing over the faded ink with a fresh pen.

"How is that even possible though?" Lilly asks the question we all have on our minds. "You're all the way over in Oklahoma! There's no communication left, isn't there?"

"If by landlines or anything like that, then you're right – there aren't any," Jake mentions as he walks up behind us, seeming a lot less hostile than he was beforehand. Luna's starting to regain her senses a little bit, but she still seems like an odd duck to me. "No phones, no faxes, not even the internet. Usually we found out from travellers, but Luna occasionally takes the chopper out to search from above. We've never actually been that far east though, so who knows what could be out there?"

Feeling as though now would be a good time to try and make amends between us, I clear my throat and try (with much difficulty) to look him in the eye.

Fortunately, it seems that Kazuki is more than happy to apologize on our behalf. Thank god…

"We're sorry about… you know, trying to take your stuff and everything…" she tells him, making it seem more like a child apologizing for snatching away some kind of toy. "I know all about what that feels like, believe me. I had a pack of Skittles in my backpack the other day, and somebody took them away from me! Poof – gone like a puff of smoke! They were the only ones that I had left…"

Silently questioning if this is for real or not, Jake really doesn't know what to say about that. "Umm… sorry for your loss, then?" he says, having his sentence turn into a question as he gets all confused. "Look… I don't exactly peg you folks as the assholes that I made you out to be, but the reality is that we're just trying to wait this thing out until we have to move again. Things were peaceful until you lot showed up – we barely had any problems at all!"

Unable to hold it in any longer, Emily chuckles as she points back towards the door. "We just broke into your home with almost no resistance whatsoever," she reminds him, patting my shoulder for added effect. "If Clem hadn't tried to open that chain and get the rest of us inside, then she could've snuck inside without any of you knowing what hit you. What's to stop someone else from doing the same thing and shooting the place up? You need all the help you can get, and this place isn't as secure as you might think. We can get you that security, you know."

As soon as I notice that their interests have been slightly piqued, I smile softly to myself. Well done, Emily – you've reeled them in already.

This might just be our easiest recruitment yet.

* * *

_**Racheal's POV**_

"...and that's why they wouldn't let me fly anymore," Katie finally finishes, having kept droning on and on about her days as a part-time pilot back in her hometown of Jackson, Missouri. Seriously - I don't think that I could get this woman to shut up if I duct-taped her mouth closed.

But that's alright, I think. It's not like I've got anything better to do out here than to listen to her and all of her _glory days_. Getting stuck out on babysitting duty... what a load of bull.

Truth be told, I'm getting kind of tired of having a fourteen year old running the show around here. Sure, I'll admit that she hasn't exactly done wrong by me in particular or done anything without the express consent of the group, but Katie had a point about her. From what I can tell, Clem's still too much fresh meat to be leading out here. Leading the group up here was a costly mistake, and one that I hope won't ruin our chances over the long haul.

"You thinking about it, too?"

"Huh? What?" I say dumbly, giving my head a shake as I tear myself out of my own head.

Rolling her eyes, Katie turns her body so that she's fully facing me from her spot in the car. It's difficult for her to move around with those ropes tied behind her back. "This - _all _of this," she remarks, saying it as if I'm supposed to just automatically know what she's talking about. "You seem to know your shit - you know that things around here aren't gonna last with the way we're going. So... what are we gonna do when it finally happens?"

"When _what _happens? You're not making any sense!"

"When the people finally grow a brain and start questioning what it is we're doing out here! When all of this nonsense about recruiting new members comes back to bite that kid in the ass!" she emphasizes, looking over at the steel plant as I consider what she's telling me. "Kelly and I talked about it once or twice... We were planning on dipping at the first sign of trouble but..."

Mulling it over for a moment, it finally clicks and dawns on me to what she could potentially be suggesting to me.

"If it comes to that," I shrug, not wanting to be in the spotlight and mention this to the others right now, "then... yeah. We'll probably have to do something about Clementine. Jane and Lilly, too - they seem to always be together."

"Glad to see you agree."

Looking over at the woman, I make a conscious decision and make her turn around so that I can untie these bonds that she's restrained in.

"Nobody can make that call," I remark, watching as she rubs her wrists tenderly. "Just... be smarter about it next time. Jacking the chopper in the middle of all of this was a stupid idea."

Chuckling to herself softly, Katie pats me on the shoulder as if she and I have been close for years. "Racheal, my dear," she tells me, "I think this may be the start of a beautiful friendship."


	15. Schemes, plots and nasty rumours

_AN: Dear Petulant Octopus and Star of Fate,_

_That was fucking hilarious XD. Both of you seem to think that your OC is playing the other for a fool – it's awesome to see that :D But let's be real here, we both know who's really in charge…_

_Ellie, of course! She's a scheming, little mastermind! Nothing passes without her consent! NOTHING!_

_BTW, if any of you saw last night's episode of season 5 for the show… holy shit. Carol legitimately SCARED ME last night. That was the coolest and most intimidating thing I've ever seen from her, and the fact that it also involved cookies of all things somehow made it even creepier. I'm going to draw inspiration from her speech in one of the parts here, hopefully you can spot it if you've watched the episode :D_

_Ahem, anyways, here's the next chapter…_

* * *

_**Tommy's POV **_

My legs feel incredibly stiff. Stiff, paralyzed, broken, whatever you want to call it – I am unable to get myself to move. As I stand there, wide-eyed and staring at Bo in shock, I watch as he bends down to clean up the mess I've left on the floor.

"You really should be more careful with these kinds of things, you know," he exhales, struggling to collect the fallen papers and putting them back in order. "James doesn't appreciate people looking through his stuff, much less leaving them all over the place. He likes to keep things in order, you know."

Before he can put the binder back on the bookshelf, I roughly grab him by the shoulder and squeeze tightly; stopping him in his tracks. "I want answers," I tell him hoarsely, feeling like my voice has suddenly gone and disappeared, "right now."

"About…?"

"Don't fuck with me right now, Bo! You damn well know what I mean!" I fiercely yell as I snatch the binder away from him and open to one of the pages. "Patient seventy-four, extensive brain damage – now dead! What in the fucking hell is this all about?!"

Shrugging me off, Bo grimaces when he sees that I'm not about to let this go so easily – the questions or the binder. No way am I just going to ignore something like this, not with so many others around. He and James are always huddled together up here, all locked away and secluded from the rest of us. We all just assumed that they were just trying to work together on finding a cure and getting us all out of this nightmare.

This certainly doesn't look like it to me!

"…James and I have brought in bite victims in the past," he tells me hesitantly; the focus in his eyes telling me that he's said this kind of thing before. "We've taken in people who were in critical condition, tried to fix them up as best we can, and then wait for whatever happens next. Those patients on that there list have all died peacefully – we put a knife in each one's head afterwards to prevent them from turning," he elaborates with a shrug.

Lighting a candle to keep the room a little bit brighter, Bo waves the match around and blows it out before placing it gingerly into the garbage can. With his laid-back attitude and calm, calculating demeanor, I reckon that he's been delivering this clever story many times over. His words are smooth and unwavering; enticing me to want to believe what it is that he's saying.

Wordlessly, I lean against the counter and continue to stare at him.

"It can be a pretty messy job at times," Bo admits; his stump hidden underneath a long-sleeved shirt. "But we do what we can to make sure that the process is as painless as possible. Wouldn't want them to have to go through too much trauma on their last day…"

When I do nothing but narrow my eyes at the Italian-looking man, he sighs and awkwardly shuffles from foot to foot. "Well," he remarks, "if that's everything, then… I'll just see you out. Gotta lock up the room and all that stuff, you see. Wouldn't want everybody looting around in James' belongings."

"Hey, Bo?"

As I finally do recover my ability to speak and turn to him with a disbelieving smile, the tranquility almost immediately gets erased from his smug little face. He knows that I've caught him in one of his own traps.

"I don't think you're a bad guy – in fact, most of the time I think the complete opposite of that," I mention, standing to my full height to match his gaze. "So come on, tell it to me straight. Man to man," I tell him, my voice barely above a whisper, "how's about you drop the act and tell me the truth? I reckon you don't have much of a choice in the matter, seeing's how I know it'll take you a lot longer to draw your gun with one hand. Go ahead and get that off your chest."

"…I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you do. How's about we try this again?"

Glancing my way for a solid ten seconds or so, Bo suddenly bursts out in a fit of chuckles as he shakes his head and rubs his face tiredly. "Wow man… I really didn't expect you to try this. Threatening one of the people who could kick your sorry ass out of this place… You really didn't think this thing through, did ya?"

At my questioning look, Bo lightly kicks the door shut behind him and sits up on the examination table; swinging his legs back and forth like a kid.

"You kill me, and then what happens? Do you really think James won't hear the gunshot? And when he sees my body on the floor, you don't think that he'll automatically assume it was you?" he rapidly pesters me with questions as my head starts to spin. It seems that he's in control of this conversation, and likely has been the entire time. "Seems pretty pointless, doesn't it? All over some hunch that isn't even correct…"

"I know what I've seen and – "

"And you've seen… what? A bunch of papers with symptoms on them? _That's _what you're basing your entire theory on here?" he cockily states as he leans his head to the right. "Look, I'd rather not have our reputations tainted by your little… ahem, _conspiracy theories_, so how about I propose something here?" Bo continues as he glowers at me. "The way I see it, you've got two options. Option one – you get to stay here and live out your days as a Firefly and never say a damn word about this to anybody. Not one person. Or, option two – leave the space centre and never come back, no matter what."

"And if I refuse this offer of yours?" I probe further, trying not to feel intimidated at how bloody threatening he's making this out to be.

Sliding off of the table, Bo walks right up towards me and stares intently into my eyes; looking completely calm on the outside but having a hidden meaning behind his words.

"Well, if you do, one morning you'll wake up… and you won't be in your bed," he remarks slowly, making sure that I hear every word. "You'll be outside the walls – far, far away. Tied to a fucking tree. And you'll scream, and scream because you'll be so afraid. But nobody will come to help… because no one will hear you," he whispers in my ear; so close that I can feel his breath against my cheek. "Well… the walkers will hear you, anyways. They'll come in packs and you won't be able to run away. And they will tear you apart and eat you up all while you're still alive. All while you can still feel every single bite into your delicate skin. Nobody will even know what happened to good, old Uncle Tommy."

As soon as he says that last part, images of Sarah pop into my head and I instinctively grab onto his shirt; pushing him away from me as my fingers trace over the pocket with my gun secured inside. It could be so easy to kill this man right now and have his venomous words repelled right back at him.

But I can't. I can't do it.

"Or," he continues, unfazed by my presence, "you can promise never to tell any of your lies to a single person here – no matter what, and nothing will happen to you. I'll know if you say something. Trust me; I've got eyes and ears all over this place. So Tommy… how's about _you _try this again?"

Feeling whatever camaraderie and friendship we may have had almost indefinitely deteriorate, replaced by an intense loathing for the man, I consider my options. Tell my suspicions to the rest of the group when they return and face the possibility of this nutcase following up on his word, leave the space centre behind for good… or bite my tongue.

Fuck… if only Joel were here with me right now… We'd fix these fuckers up _real _good. But my brother ain't here with me – I'm by myself, and killing Bo on the spot would look mighty suspicious to the rest of the group. I'd likely end up having to sneak out anyways, with the rest of them hunting me down until either one of us decides to give up.

Gritting my teeth to the point that it physically hurts, I huff out in anger and toss the binder onto the counter as if it's some kind of hot potato. My body tenses with seething rage as he smiles and nods towards me.

"Glad we could reach an understanding," he sighs with content. As I turn on my heel and head to the exit without another word, he hollers after me in a fake friendly kind of way. "Oh, Tommy? Lemme round you up a beer or something when I can! I'm sure there's one loitering around in the basement somewhere!"

Slamming the door firmly behind me, my stroll turns into a light jog as I head outside. I need some air… and a lot of time to think.

Realizing that coming here may have been a mistake after all, I sigh heavily as I close my eyes; digging around in my pocket as I pull out an old picture that I've kept with me for more than a few years now. God… Sarah's championship soccer game…

Joel was so proud of her that day – you should've seen the look on his face.

"Wherever you are, big brother," I say to the sky, hoping my voice will carry on the wind, "I sure hope as hell you're doing a lot better than me."

* * *

_**Ellie's POV**_

"I wanna fly in the helicopter!" I exclaim with excitement, capturing Jake, Luna, Scott and Clem's attention as I put on a pleading look. "Please? I'll be extra careful in there, I promise! I don't want to stay in the crappy car again!"

Clementine looks hesitant about it, as she usually does about _everything_, but Luna seems to think that it's a great idea.

I like her already – she lets me do all the fun things!

"Driving's for suckers, that's for sure!" she agrees with a big smile on her face. Why is she talking so funny? "Flying is where the party's really at – you haven't lived until you've had a taste of my _shamazing _piloting skills! Hehe…"

Putting a cautionary hand on my shoulder, Clementine arches a brow as she looks over at Scott and Jake with a worried glance. "No offense or anything… but should she be the one flying the chopper?" she quizzically asks, making me frown in confusion. Why wouldn't she be allowed to? Did she try to fly to the moon or something?

"Oh… well, you might find this a bit hard to believe," Scott chuckles in embarrassment, "but Luna's our pilot, and well… she kind of flies better… under the influence. It's gotten to the point where she can't really focus that well without some kind of alcohol…"

Scratching my head in confusion, I look up at the grownups (including Clem) and try to get their attention. I don't understand what this dude's talking about! _Under the influence_? What the heck does that mean?

"I don't know about this…" Clementine says doubtfully, probably thinking that they're bad guys or something. I hope she's wrong about that! "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you three are coming with us, and we could really use your skills… but this? I find it hard to believe that any of this could be true."

"If we weren't positive that Luna could do it, then we wouldn't be letting her fly the aircraft. She's helped us out of a jam more than once," Jake insists, jingling the keys around as Luna snatches them from his grasp. "If we wanted to hurt you with her flying, then why would we be putting ourselves at risk too? You're just going to have to trust us, Clementine."

There's that word again – _trust_. The adults like to use it a lot for some reason, but that makes no sense to me. Trust people? Why wouldn't people trust each other? That makes no sense at all! If you can't trust each other, then nothing would ever get done!

Hmph… grownups are fucking weird…

Oops! I accidentally thought of a bad word! Now my brain's gonna have to be washed out with soap… I guess?

…tee-hee! I'm such a bad ass!

Looking like she's about to cave, I go up to hug Clementine tightly around her stomach as she finally says yes. She's gonna come fly with me too so that she doesn't miss out on anything!

Man, how cool is this gonna be?! I'm so excited right now!

While Clementine goes to explain what's happening to everybody else, Luna offers to take me up to the roof so we can sit down. "You can be my co-pilot, squirt!" she tells me as I widen my eyes.

"R-really?! You really mean it?!" I ask, bouncing up the stairs as fast as my little legs can carry me. Being small really sucks sometimes…

As Luna holds the rooftop door open for me, sending my hair to whip back and forth against my face, that bubbling excitement I had just a moment ago turns into something a little scarier. Gulp… co-pilot? Doesn't that mean that I have to help her fly the helicopter? This thing is so big!

"What if… what if I mess up?" I ask her as my voice shakes. "I've never even been in one of these things before – I don't wanna crash!"

Laughing to herself quietly, Luna ruffles my hair around as she opens up the front door; letting me go in first as I sit down in front of the steering wheel thingy.

"No worries, kid. I'm gonna be doing most of the flying part – you get to point out all the cool things we see along the way," she explains, confusing me a little bit. Okay… if she's flying this birdy, then why is she showing me the controls?

"There's so many buttons in here!" I remark as Luna sticks a flight helmet onto my head and adjusts it so that it can fit on snuggly. "Whoa! It's like I'm wearing a space helmet! Hey, did Clemmy tell you that we've got a rocket ship back in Houston?"

"Get out of town! No way!"

"I'm serious!" I giggle, watching as her face lights up like a Christmas tree. "It's just sitting there not moving at all! I used to go inside and play with the stuff in there sometimes, but… nobody really wants to do that stuff with me anymore… I have to act all m…matuche?"

"Mature?" she finishes for me, blowing a raspberry as I scoot over for her to sit down. "Trust me, Ellie – being mature is totally overrated. You get almost no time for fun things to do, and people always get fucking pissed off whenever I try to play practical jokes on them. I'm like, really? You're pissed off at me because of one little pack of eggs being thrown at your garage?" she rambles on, totally losing me as I shake my head and try to get all of these confusing thoughts out. "Anyways… don't be in any hurry to grow up too soon, you feel me? It's uh… it can get pretty depressing pretty quickly…"

Aww… Luna looks sad to me! Her shoulders are all slumped down and she's got a small frown on her face. I don't like it when people get all blue and down in the dumps… I hope that she can feel better before we have to go up into the air.

They might put me in control of the chopper for real if that happens! I don't even know how to ride a bike yet, let alone a helicopter – don't tell Clementine, Jane or Lilly that though, okay? It's really embarrassing…

"Everything set, Luna?" Scott suddenly asks, snapping me out of my daydream as Clementine follows closely behind him and Jake.

Giving him a big thumbs up, Luna turns towards me before motioning towards one of the big switches that say START.

"Can I?" I ask, more so to Clementine than anyone else. As she nods at me for the go-ahead, I bite my lip before flipping the switch and trying to cover my ears; getting blocked by the helmet that's covering my head. Man, is that loud!

"We've got contact," Luna's voice suddenly rings in my ears, as I turn towards her in wonder. "It's the helmet, Ellie. There's a microphone inside of it," she remarks, tapping the plastic device. Clementine, Jake and Scott all pile into the helicopter as I place my hands in my lap. "Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gents. We may experience turbulence upon our ascent, so please keep your arms and legs inside of the aircraft at all times. Or don't and just fall out to your death – whichever you'd prefer."

Suddenly feeling a little more scared than I was before, I feel Clementine grasp onto my hand in comfort. "No worries, alright? Nothing's gonna happen to you so long as I'm around," she tells me, making me smile as she does so. Clem's got some crazy way of making people feel better about themselves. "Oh, and make sure that you wave to everyone once we take off, alright? They were pretty jealous that the two of us got to sit in the helicopter while they all had to drive – especially Lilly. I kind of forgot that she worked at an air force base before all of this…"

Laughing to myself quietly, I put my hands up against the glass as I feel the bottom of the chopper start to lift up into the air. Whoa… this is sooooooo cool! We're starting to fly! I never thought that I'd be able to do this kind of thing in a billion, gazillion years!

Rapidly waving back and forth and tapping on the window, I grin to myself as Lilly, Jane, Alden, Emily, Kelly and Kazuki all wave back to me casually before hopping into their cars and disappearing. "They look like ants from up here," I comment as Luna continues to raise us higher and higher into the air. Frowning, I look ahead in the distance as I sigh and feel a little bit crappier. "But so do the walkers…"

"…you can probably land on the roof of the building when we get there…" Clementine mumbles, not looking at anybody as she folds one leg overtop of the other. "Get some sleep, Ellie. It's gonna be a long trip."

"Ha! I'm not even tired!" I brag, feeling fully confident that I can make it all the way back home without even blinking an eyelid.

By the time that we actually do make it back to the Houston Space Centre, I end up finding out that I slept almost the entire way there; missing over half the trip in the process.

Shit!

* * *

_**Nobody's POV **_

Hunger is on everybody's mind as they gather round the campfire tonight, having just been denied yet another place to live after having it swarmed by walkers. Hunger and homelessness – those are the two main issues to be tackled, especially recently.

But it's always some new kind of problem with this group. Two months ago they were nearly all quickly dehydrating and praying each night for some kind of rain to come crashing down on top of them. Then it was people leaving and cutting all ties to the group. Then it was disease. Depression, anxiety, paranoia – the list goes on and on. Each problem seeming, at least in their troubled minds, more difficult to cope with than the last.

But somehow, with a great deal of effort along with trial and error, Tracy has somehow managed to keep this dangerous rabble together. With some help from Joshua, of course.

She still doesn't know why he's stuck around after the last few years. The group's had some pretty close calls, that's for certain.

"…you're back," Tracy states plainly, looking at Joshua's silhouette through the blazing fire. Somehow it makes him seem more like a devil than a man. "Did you spot them? Anything we can take with us?"

Chuckling sinisterly to himself, Joshua takes a seat on the log beside her as the two of them watch their group of forty-six and counting talk and gamble amongst themselves. The game today is who can get the closest to the tied-up walker without getting their fingers bitten off.

The prize? Who the fuck really knows…

"You're never gonna guess who I found out there," Joshua remarks, giving her a look as she smirks and nods silently to herself.

Oh yes, she knows _exactly _who Joshua found.

"Looks like we've got some decisions to make," she remarks, clinking her canteen of water against Josh's as she takes a swig of it. "But first thing's first – we're taking Ranger's Grove, one way or another. Whether by force or peacefully remains to be seen, but you need to be ready for a fight regardless. That's usually how these things go."

"Trace… shouldn't we take them out first?" Josh questions as he uses a stick to move the firewood around a little bit. "I know that Alden was out there, and that little bitch with the ball cap, too. They got Lilly back as well…"

"No worries, my friend. All in due time," Tracy insists, going over every little detail in her head as she watches one of her group members nearly get a hand ripped off from a dead guy. "Leave everything to me."


	16. Mental tactics

_AN: Just as a warning, a part of this chapter gets very dark towards the end – not that it hasn't really been already, but still. Hopefully this won't cause any problems, but you've been warned in advance._

_Anyways, hopefully you enjoy this chapter :D_

* * *

_**Jane's POV **_

"Any last words here, Alden?"

Frowning in concentration, the man scratches his chin as he contemplates what his next move is gonna be. They're down to the final stretch here – one wrong move, and it's game over for him. This is the moment he's likely been preparing for his entire life.

Win or lose, the guy had a good run.

"Don't count your chickens before they've hatched, Kazuki," he shakes his head; smirking as he taps his leg. "Let's see… how about… B4?"

"…hit…"

"YES! FINALLY, I'VE DONE IT!" he chants in victory, doing a little celebratory dance as the girl rolls her eyes in amusement. "Jesus… it's about damn time that I won for a change! I've finally ended my losing streak – say the words and it'll seal the deal!"

"Do I have to?" she complains, looking at me as I smirk and nod my head. "Ugh, fine… Alden, you sunk my battleship…"

As Alden smirks in victory once more and shakes the kid's hand to be a good sport, I rub my hand along the smooth, metallic surface of the fresh board that we've plastered overtop of the wooden barricade that we had before. This is a massive improvement, and I think we can all rest a little bit easier knowing that our security from walkers is almost completely ensured from the outside. And good luck trying to fire a bullet through all of this, unless of course somebody decides to bring along a tank and just blow the walls straight down.

But who would have the time or resources to pull that off? And why would they want to anyways?

"Jane? Do you want in?" Kazuki offers, holding up her piece of the board game as a bunch of the little red and white pegs go falling to the floor. "Alden's being a bum and won't play me for a rematch anymore."

Shaking my head, I decline the invitation as I stand up to leave. "Wouldn't want my ego to get bruised, too," I comment over my shoulder, referring to Alden and how he's lost this game at least five times in a row already. I really don't understand how they didn't get sick of playing after the first couple of games. "Maybe Ellie will play with you. I think I saw her up in her room earlier."

Watching as Kazuki sprints past me like lightning as she bolts for the stairs, I put my hands in my pockets as I start to wander down the hallway. This place is becoming incredibly dirty with all of us kicking up dust from the outside, but what can you do? Nobody actually sleeps on the main floor except for our three latest inhabitants, and even then they're all tucked away near the stairwell.

"Mind if I tag along?" Alden chirps behind me, having hastily packed up the Battleship set and put it back in the box. "I was actually going the same way anyways, so I just figured…"

"Come on, man. No need to be so formal around me," I tell him with a light chuckle as a faint blush spreads to his cheeks. "As far as I know, I don't bite. You're not on my shit list anymore," I add carefully, sucking as usual at trying to make people feel more comfortable.

Not saying anything for the moment, Alden suddenly finds an interest in looking at his shoes as the two of us head up the first flight of stairs. Even years after it happened, this place still reminds me of how many bodies we had to get rid of after Derek and the rest of us decided to pick a fight with James' crew and invade. If you get close enough to certain spots, especially in the corners, you can still even _smell _the stench of death that has permanently etched itself within the walls.

I don't think that Lilly, Tommy and I were ever fully forgiven for what happened that night, and I highly doubt that we ever will. That's not exactly something that you can just forget and push out of your mind.

Sighing, I hold the door open behind me as the guy walks along with a forlorn expression. "You didn't just wanna come with me for the hell of it," I point out, knowing that there's something bugging him. "What's up, Alden? Why so glum?"

"…it… umm, it's about Lilly, actually," he reveals as I face him with a serious expression. When he sees my reaction, he immediately tries to reassure me. "No, no! It's nothing bad this time, honestly!" he stammers, practically kicking himself as we move along. "I just wanted to ask you if there've been any… you know, symptoms or issues with her at all? I didn't really get a chance to ask or get to know you guys after that whole thing with Tracy, but I just wanted to make sure. It was a pretty heavy situation with her almost dying and all…"

Ever since that day back at Derek's camp out in Dallas, I've always felt rather protective of Lilly, even though I'm almost certain that protection is one of the very last things that she needs. The woman could take on an entire herd by herself as far as I'm concerned, but I've found myself getting defensive whenever people talk about her – especially when she's not actually around.

This group definitely likes to talk, and when the word got out about her and I, the two of us suddenly became the most interesting pair in the entire space centre. Nobody was talking about finding a cure or surviving or trying to find more supplies. Nope, instead it was all like, "Oh wow, you two are together?! No fucking way! Seriously?! Wow… so what's it like being in love with another woman?"

I think I've been asked that very question about a billion times over by now. That's why Lilly was getting so agitated before, and is also one of the many reasons that I always try to make sure that she's perfectly fine.

So to hear Alden talk about that horrible time back at that fucking mall just sent off some alarm bells inside of my head. "She's fine," I say pointedly, trying to be a woman of few words. "If she was feeling shitty before, well she certainly isn't anymore."

"No eating problems? Any trouble with sleeping or moving around?" Alden probes as I realize that he's really only trying to help. This guy's not a threat, and if I recall correctly, he was the only one out of that miserable bunch of assholes that actually tried to help her out somewhat. I won't soon forget that. "I'd feel like absolute dog shit if she was still suffering because of – "

"You didn't contribute to it, and there's nothing to worry about anymore," I interrupt, not wanting the guy to blame himself for any of this stuff. "Just take it easy, alright?" I remark; almost ready to head up to the roof and talk to Lilly myself. "If there's ever a problem, I'd be the first one that she'd tell."

Looking at least a little bit more satisfied, Alden nods as he itches behind his ear. "Good to know," he sighs. "Anyways, Tommy asked me to go out on a run with him later this afternoon, so that's where I'll be headed."

"Really? I didn't think he was into doing those kinds of things."

"Me neither," Alden agrees with a shrug. "Something seems off about him lately… did you get that feeling? Or was it just me? Because to me it seems like he's really been on edge over something recently."

I don't spend a whole lot of time interacting with the rest of the group besides a handful of people, and Tommy's not exactly on that list. If he's acting strangely, then I more than likely wouldn't know a single thing about it.

Come to think of it, I barely know anything about Tommy at all. I know where he hails from and a little bit about his family life, but outside of that I'm almost completely in the dark. You'd think after being around us for so long that we'd at least get a little perspective on him, but the man remains almost a complete enigma.

"Not a clue," I admit, pointing out the window when I spot the guy waiting by himself outside. "But you'd better hurry – I don't imagine he'd like you being late. Make sure to pick up a gun from Elliot before you head out."

That's the other new addition that we've created recently – an actual working armory. Most of our bigger guns (snipers, assault rifles, etc.) are now kept in a storage room that used to be blocked off so that the kids couldn't get hurt inside. After some convincing by a bunch of us, James finally relented and allowed us to renovate the place.

Now it looks more like a shop than anything else, which is kind of cool to see. Kind of reminds me of some of the small, local stores that I used to take Jaime to back in the day. There's at least one person working there in shifts, making sure that all of the guns are loaded and taken care of properly. We all ended up agreeing to have one pistol with us at all times for protection, but that could soon be subject to change as the group gets larger. Clementine mentioned something about making another trip out to this "Hunter's Retreat" place out in southern Missouri and then heading north to Jefferson City, but I think she might be stretching out a little bit far. The girl can afford to take a break once in a while!

But it's nice to see that she's taking her position seriously, not that I ever doubted her for a second. I knew that girl was incredibly capable ever since I first saw her back at Howe's. Even though I may have been a total bitch to her at the start, it was only to cover up my real thoughts – I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with Clementine, and I certainly wouldn't have predicted that we'd be here right now. I always assumed that if I were to ever get out of the hardware store, that I'd just end up all alone once again and trying to hold out as best I could until something different came along.

Three years later, I'm now married, have a job out in an enclosed community, and am still with the kid that I had met so long ago.

Yeah, go figure.

* * *

Tiptoeing forwards, I sneak up behind my target on the roof as I prepare for the assault. The wind's on my side today it seems, as it blocks the sound of my footsteps encroaching on my unsuspecting victim.

Easy does it…

"Gotcha," I startle her, wrapping my arms around the base of her neck as Lilly nearly drops the rifle in surprise. "Hey, Lils – hope I didn't scare ya too much!"

"I don't _get _scared," she tries her best to convince me without much success. "You just startled me, that's all. Didn't see you coming."

"Uh huh…" I tease, rolling my eyes as I pop a squat beside her; taking one of her hands in mine as I look out at the vast expanse of city that Lilly gets to stare at for long periods at a time. Sure, the view might be pretty nice, especially when the sun starts going down, but I bet that it'd get pretty boring just staring at nothing up here all day. Not to mention it'd probably be lonely as hell. "I think you missed one," I point out, narrowing my gaze as a lone walker wanders out on the sidewalk. "It's alright though, I doubt that anyone would be able to – "

_BAM!_

"…hit it…" I finish as Lilly lowers the rifle again with yet another kill to her roster. I think it's safe to say that she's become one of our best shots around the base, at least with a sniper rifle.

I should probably ask her to teach me that stuff sometime. It'd be a good skill to have of something were to happen while I'm outside the walls. I know that she's been helping people with their shooting mechanics recently, but it's mostly for the people that aren't quite used to some of the bigger guns – namely James, Kazuki, Kelly and some others. Elliot seems to have a pretty good handle on things, probably second only to Lilly I terms of deadliness.

But even though she's got a killer shot, even I have to admit that she's not always of a sound mind. Her mental and emotional state can sometimes get her into trouble – that's saying something coming from me. Her fiery temper can sometimes get the better of her in certain situations.

I just hope that she doesn't accidentally piss off the wrong person too much. She's lucky that James really isn't much of a fighter, otherwise she could've gotten seriously hurt back when she confessed to killing Debbie.

We can't let our emotions get the best of us. Not anymore.

"I've missed you a lot lately," Lilly comments, confusing me as I glance in her general direction.

"Umm… how? I haven't gone anywhere without you as far as I know."

Shaking her head, Lilly corrects herself as she plants a kiss on my cheek. "Just the two of us," she reaffirms as I clue in to what she means. "I can't even move around in this fucking place without bumping into someone else – I miss the privacy we had back when it was just you, Clem and I."

"I hate to bring this up," I apologize in advance, knowing that she'll try and brush the idea aside, "but some of them… they're starting to worry. About you, mostly. They keep asking me to see if you're okay."

Lilly suppresses the urge to groan as she frowns at nothing in particular. She's never liked to rely on others for support, and absolutely _hates it _when people start talking about her. It's almost like a slap in the face to her self-esteem.

Turning to me, she quirks an eyebrow in a questioning glance. "Are _you _worried?"

"It's pretty much my job to be worried about you, but… I don't know," I admit with a shrug. "There haven't been any big things that I can think of, but – "

"Then there's nothing more to discuss."

"There _is _something else, though," I add, knowing just how stubborn she can be when it comes to these kinds of things. However, this might be able to get her attention a little bit. "It's Clementine… I wanted to talk to you about her… _condition_."

When she scratches her head in confusion, I sigh before rubbing my face in exasperation. This has been on my mind for a while now, and it's about damn time that I just get it off my chest.

Boy, Lilly's not kidding! There's literally no privacy around to say anything here!

"Haven't you ever noticed that she sometimes… talks to herself? Or says things to people that aren't even there?" I inquisitively question. "I haven't been stalking the kid or anything, but every once in a while, I'll be standing off to the side and hear these little whispers coming out of her mouth. Usually it'll happen when things are getting really hectic, like on the night of Zayne's death or the time that I caught her wide awake at night after you got kidnapped. And then earlier… you know, when she…"

"Shot at us…" Lilly concludes as I nod in confirmation. Realization seems to dawn on her face as she starts to click the pieces together. "You think she's got schizophrenia or something? Isn't… isn't she a little bit young to develop that kind of thing?"

Despite me obviously not being a licensed psychiatrist or anything resembling that, I've been able to pick up a few things here and there just by watching other people go through similar issues in their lives. "Mental illness doesn't really have a starting age, as far as I know," I tell her, unsure of how else to put it. "That's just what it seemed like to me. But you knew her before I did, right? Did you happen to notice anything back then? Anything that might've been linked to something like this?"

Thinking it over, Lilly stares out into the distance for a good, long while; most likely having to dig way back in order to remember the details. From the way that Lilly told me, she and Clem had been separated for at least two years before they found each other again, so I wouldn't exactly be surprised if she had trouble remembering an eight year old Clementine. She's changed so much from before.

"The walkie-talkie," she snaps her fingers as if a lightbulb went off in her brain, "I remember she used to play around with this busted, old walkie-talkie when we were at the motor-inn. Lee told me once that she was just pretending to talk to her parents with it, but when I watched her it seemed… weird," she reveals to me, making sure that nobody's behind us and trying to listen in on our conversation. "Clem would say something to her parents, wait a few seconds, and then talk as if they actually said something back. It could've just been childish nonsense, but Clem never came across that way with me. In fact, I'd say compared to almost every other kid her age that I'd known, she was probably the least childish of all. Hell, I think she might've been more mature than Ben was at that age…"

"Who's Ben?"

"Doesn't matter…" she shakes it off, leaving the guy's identity a secret as she straightens out the creases at the bottom of her shirt. "The point is that that may have been where it started – losing both of my parents at her age probably would've done a number on me, too. But… we're gonna have to bring this up with Clem herself before jumping to any conclusions."

Ha! A lot of good that's gonna do! I already know what her reaction will be, given how long she's been surviving with Lilly and I now – total denial and introversion. Clem will flat-out tell us that absolutely nothing is wrong in her life and that there are more important things for us to be worried about.

But regardless of our preconceived notions of how this is gonna go down, we both know that it has to be done. We've been largely neglecting the mental trauma that Clementine has probably been going through for way too long because neither of us have wanted to have that conversation. We've just wanted to remain blissfully ignorant about it all and just think that everything's been just golden… but Clem will suffer because of it. With the extra weight of leadership duties, survival responsibilities and all of this other stuff, Lilly and I have to make sure that Clementine's fully capable of doing this kind of thing.

Otherwise… the Fireflies might soon be in need of a new leader.

Pushing these thoughts to the side – just for now, I swear that I'm not procrastinating again – I brush a loose strand of hair in behind Lilly's damaged ear as she fiddles with the straps on my boot. It's weird, isn't it? I've never been the touch-feely kind of person before, and yet with her it's completely different. It's almost like my brain's been shut down and replaced with something else entirely.

"You know, I found some more of those Batman comics that you seemed to like so much," she mentions, chuckling as I look a little bit more interested. She's found my one weakness. "I might be able to swing a few extra of those your way… if you'd like to join me in the room later tonight…"

I think I just fucking died.

Nearly crying with laughter as the giggles hysterically erupt within me, I slap my leg as I hold up a hand in disbelief. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on for a minute," I wheeze, finding the concept of Lilly trying to seduce me to be incredibly hilarious. "Did Lilly Caul, the hard-nosed, shoot first ask questions later woman… just try to trade _sex _for _comic books?_"

"Is that a "yes" then?"

"Of course it is, I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around it!"

Smiling fondly at me, Lilly leans back on her perch on the rooftop as she tosses the gun to the side without a care in the world; paying full attention to me as she folds her hands together.

"Well," she shrugs, "we haven't exactly had a whole lot of time for… for just _us_, you know? What with all of this recruiting and travelling that's been going on. So, I kind of just figured…"

"That we'd just try to sweep each other off our feet and live happily ever after?" I question as I kiss her lips feverishly. There's nothing in the world more satisfying than being in her embrace. "Yeah, that I can definitely deal with."

Her chocolate brown eyes scan every inch of my face as her mouth forms a thin, straight line; looking as if she's still in disbelief and shock after all of these years. I'm pretty sure our two year anniversary should be coming up soon, or whatever bullshit date that might be. I was never a fan of anniversaries or Valentine's day or any of that mushy shit they constantly shove down your throats… it all seemed kind of pointless to me.

I mean, do you really need a specific day to show somebody that you really care? Why can't you just do it all the time?

"I'd kill and die for you," she tells me suddenly, rubbing the side of my cheek with her thumb. "You know that, right? I'd go to the end of the fucking world to know you're safe."

"Ha ha, could you be anymore cheesy?" I purr like a cat, nuzzling my head into the crane of Lilly's neck. "But I'd do the same… and maybe I _like _cheesy… At least when it's coming from you."

Standing up, Lilly practically tosses me over her shoulder as I chuckle and protest by banging against her backside. I can't move an inch!

"Well then," she remarks with a smirk evident in her voice, "I think that I can come up with some cheesier lines than that. How about we go back to the room so that I can… show you some?"

God fucking damn it… yeah, I definitely can agree to that.

Lookout duty can wait – as Clementine once put it, I think she and I need some Jilly time alone.

That right there might be even cheesier than anything Lilly could possibly come up with.

* * *

_**Kazuki's POV **_

"Racheal? Emily?" I holler out, feeling a little bit discouraged that I couldn't end up playing Battleship anymore. Ellie was being a total buzzkill today. "I'm just heading out for a bit – I'm gonna go look for supplies around the street shops!"

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to head out alone, Kaz. Besides, aren't Alden and Tommy already out on a run?" Emily mentions, putting a slight dent in my plans as I nod in disappointment.

Miserably glancing over at Racheal, she shakes her head before I can even utter a sound.

"Shouldn't be taking the risk – you know that," she lightly scolds, though sounding a lot less demeaning than it used to be. "There's plenty of things to do around here, you know. You just need to know where to look."

"Like what?"

"…I didn't say that I had _all _the answers," she mumbles, being an code name for the fact that she's got no clue what I could do around here. Chores? Yeah right, fuck that! If I'd wanted to do work, then I would've been doing that hours ago! It's literally all we ever do around this joint!

…although, I suppose being here and doing things like fixing up windows and making sure that our food supply is in check certainly can beat the alternative. No way am I going back out there to live by myself! Being on the run from my old group was horrible enough, not to mention the people that I met afterwards…

I'm pretty fortunate to have found an actually stable group like this one for a change.

"Gah! Unbelievable…" I murmur, turning away as I walk past Katie and Kelly without even giving them a passing glance. I'll show them! I can contribute just as much as anybody else around here, and I'll prove it!

All I need is to grab a weapon from Elliot, and I'll be completely fine out on the street.

Heading on over to the freshly-stocked armory, I tap on the door (which ironically just says Janitor's Closet on the front of it) as I hear Elliot shuffle around inside. "Door's open!" he shouts through the frame as I carefully step inside, widening my eyes at the mess he's created. Clearly he's been tinkering around with the guns again even though Bo and Lilly both told him not to.

Boys! I'll never understand them!

"I think I left my pistol in here the other day," I recall, rubbing my arm as I try to navigate through the maze of weaponry. "Have you seen it around?"

"Why would you need it right now? Nobody's going out on a scouting mission today," Elliot remarks suspiciously as he screws a couple of bolts together on some kind of rifle that he and Jake had been putting together. Honestly, I'm not so sure that it'll work considering that it's mostly just made out of leftover parts, but it's cool to see that we're starting to use more of the junk that we have. Guns don't exactly last forever, you know.

Thinking quickly, I lightly explain how everyone else has got a small firearm on them and that I'd need it for personal protection, but then add at the end that I'll take over his shift earlier when I get the chance.

That right there sweetens the deal a little bit.

"Fine," he says quietly, not giving it much thought. "But come by in a couple of hours, you hear? I'd actually like to get first dibs on dinner for a change. Kelly's constantly there before everyone else…"

"Thanks a billion!" I smirk; taking the pistol out of his grasp as I carefully place it in my back pocket. Once that's completed, I bid the man farewell as I sneak my way over to the exit; making sure that nobody's watching as I slip outside unnoticed.

Once I'm aware that Lilly's not up on her post (which I definitely didn't expect to see happen today), I scoot across the street with a light backpack on my shoulder and a medium-sized puch in front.

Who says that fanny packs are out of style, huh?

* * *

_**Nobody's POV **_

"…can you see her from here? How can you be sure that that's really her?"

"Fiona, does your mouth ever stay closed?" Joshua retorts in annoyance, rolling his eyes as he nods his head. "Yes, okay? I know what I'm doing – you're the newbie here, remember? Just shut your trap and let me do my thing. Stay back here and let me work my magic."

Sighing in defeat, the forty-four year old woman raises her hands in defense as she backs off and watches as the guy maneuvers around a rusted-out car towards the one-eyed kid. One thing that she's noticed about Joshua is how incredibly disturbing the guy can be when he wants to – it really sets her on edge whenever she's stayed nearby for too long.

Frowning, Fiona watches with uncertainty as he prepares whatever it is he plans on doing. Tracy told the two of them specifically to obtain whatever they think would be most beneficial to the group before she took the rest of them and sacked Ranger's Grove. The group has increased their numbers indefinitely, which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it.

Kazuki holds up an old tin can and grimaces when she sees that it's filled with nothing but expired potatoes. This venture isn't going quite as well as she had originally hoped.

Chucking the thing a ways off, the girl puts her hands in her pockets and turns back around; preparing to head back to the base before anybody notices that she's left. She really doesn't feel like getting a lecture on the dangers of heading out alone today.

Alarms go off in her head as she suddenly feels a firm hand grasp onto her shoulder and pull her to the side of the building; panicking in fear when she sees that Joshua is holding her against her will.

"Thought you could get away from us permanently, huh?! Is that what you were thinking?!" he rages, slamming the girl against the brick with force. "Did you honestly believe we wouldn't be able to find you out here again?! Don't you fucking lie to me, Kazuki! I'll know if you are!"

"I…I…"

"Enough with your fucking stammering, god!" he torments, feeling a sick satisfaction from doing so. "Too stupid to speak, as per usual! Like a god damn church mouse! You haven't changed one bit!"

Wanting to be at least a little bit brave in front of one of the worst people she's ever encountered, Kazuki glares at the man as ferociously as she can manage. "Shut up… just… just leave me alone!"

"You're fucking pathetic, you know that? Nobody there is your _friend! _Clementine doesn't like you and neither does anyone else there!" he berates, getting all up in her face as she tries to look away. "They might act all nice and shit in front of your face, but when you're not looking they talk behind your back about what a fucking loser you are! You and Alden couldn't even get yourselves out with your incompetence!"

"That's not true! You… you left us behind!"

Smacking her roughly across the cheek and leaving a huge red mark across her Kazuki's face, Joshua orders her not to talk back to him like that as he lightly slams a fist into the brick wall for added effect.

"You could've come back with us, Kazuki! We gave you so many opportunities, but you blew every last one of them!" he yells as Fiona watches the scene unfold from her hiding spot. This guy's flipped his lid! "You're a fucking disgrace – you're gonna die alone, and nobody will even know the difference. That's just how much of an impact you really have out here… you're _nothing!_"

Fearfully looking up at the psychopath, Kazuki holds up a hand to prevent him from trying to hit her again. "I'm…" she murmurs, knowing that trying to go for her gun right now would just be suicide. "St-stop it…"

"You're so worthless that you being alive is literally just taking up oxygen…" he bullies her with a sharp glare, trying to mold her like putty in his hands. As if he hadn't battered her enough already with all of the insults, he then decides to add more salt to the wound. "Do you really think that people don't notice your messed up eye, kid? Maybe we should take the other one and keep it as a trophy – tie the whole thing around my doorknob… wouldn't that just be peachy? It's not as if you need it, considering how pathetic you've really become…"

That crack right there nearly sends the girl into a frenzy. That experience back in her old group was one of the most traumatizing things she had ever experienced, and to hear something like that (from somebody who'd actually be fucked up enough to do it) scares her even more than the walkers do.

"NO!" she cries out, practically fearing for her life. "Pl-please no… I… I don't wanna…"

Doing a complete one-eighty, Joshua lifts the girl upright off the ground and forces her to lean her head against his shoulder. "Shh… shush now, Kazuki… It's alright – _I forgive you_," he whispers, knowing that the cycle will repeat itself and that she'll end up thinking that it's her fault for her own mistreatment. "I'm not going to hold your transgressions against you this time…"

Sniffling as she looks up into his eyes, Kazuki tries not to totally capitulate. "You… you're not mad?"

"No, of course not! We're friends, aren't we?" he suggests, giving both of her shoulders a squeeze as the girl's mind swims with rapid confusion. "What kind of friend would hold a grudge like that? No… we could get along famously, Kazuki… as long as I get your help with something really important…"

"Like what?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked!" he chirps merrily. "You see, here's the thing. Our group is kind of in a pickle back home, so we're looking for any sort of information we can get on possible supply locations. You wouldn't happen to know of any now, would you?"

Afraid of giving the dick and answer that he won't like Kazuki lowers her gaze for a moment while hoping that this will be over soon. She thought that she would've been past this sort of bullshit by now.

"No…" she replies carefully; quickly going to say something else before he gets angry. "But we… we do have a map up in the office…"

Nodding with fake delight, Joshua bends down more to her height as he smirks in a twisted fashion. This is going even more smoothly than he'd hoped. "Perfect – if you go and get that for me, then we'll be totally square. No hard feelings or anything like that. Your slate will totally be wiped clean," he proposes, putting a warning finger up in front of her. "But, and this is important, you cannot under any circumstances tell a single person there about what it is that you're doing, alright? I'm putting my faith in you here, Kazuki. Do _not _let me down."

"But why can't I tell anyone?"

"Well, we wouldn't want word getting around to people who might spoil the fun now, would we? And besides…" he trails off, moving in closer so that he has her full attention, "I'd have to kill you if something like that were to happen. And we wouldn't want a dirty, messy thing like that to ruin our delicate friendship. Go now, Kaz. Bring all of the plans and info that you can carry, you hear me/ I'm choosing to trust you this time around."

Watching as she darts back to the space centre like a bunny, Joshua smiles devilishly at his handiwork; thoroughly impressed at his acting chops. Without a lick of remorse, her wanders on back to Fiona in anticipation for Kazuki to return with the goods.

If that intimidated and terrified look in her eye was any indication, then Joshua has her right where he wants her.

"…Tracy puts way, _way _too much trust in you," Fiona comments; disgusted at his immoral behaviour right there. If she had known just how shitty some of these people could be, then she more than likely wouldn't have even bothered to ask about joining up. She needed the food, obviously… but starving to death might've put her mind at more ease than this.

The indifference within him is enough to startle even the most cold-hearted of souls.


	17. This is a message

_AN: Two shout-outs today! On occasion I'm going to select one or more of you guys to shamelessly advertise in the author's notes before a lot of the chapters, since besides reviewing your stories myself, this is really the only way I can kinda give back for the support you guys have shown. So here it goes._

_Just wanted to thank Galen Devereaux for some ideas about this chapter in particular, it was really helpful and it's helping me put this story back on track with what I originally had in mind! If you haven't seen his fic "Making it Work" then you definitely should! It's got some of our OCs as well as Tommy from the Last of Us – check it out, it's a really interesting read :)_

_Also, a big, big thanks also goes out to DethMarkDragoon for all the positive encouragement! We chatted in PM and he's a really insightful guy, and he's making his own story pretty soon! I'll be sure to refer to it once it comes around, but for now I just wanted to thank you for reading this, man! I appreciate it!_

_Sorry for the long wait for this, but I've finally finished the chapter and am back on track with where I want this story to go. So without further ado, please review and read the next chapter! Thanks my peeps! _

* * *

_**Clem's POV**_

"…so he kept going on and on about how much we were missing in the cupboards and the shelves. Wouldn't stop mentioning it, even when I tried changing the subject," Kelly continues frowning at the sign as she taps the sheet of notice paper on the outside of the door. Despite her skill development and talents from working as an aide to James on the medical side of things, clearly she's not exactly always inclined to be working around him every day.

Putting my hands in my pockets, I choose to indulge her for as long as I can. It's not that I don't appreciate her coming to me and explaining some things that need to be improved around here, but today hasn't been too exceptional. Elliot was going to try and flatten Katie into a pancake for cutting in line for dinner, Bo is basically stone-walling me and turning to leave every time I try to strike up a conversation with him, and Kazuki didn't even show up to eat tonight. She wouldn't even tell me why – just kept her head down, mumbled something that none of us could hear, and then just walked off as quickly as possible.

And those are only a handful of the potential headaches that might come up over the next few days. Alden said earlier that Tommy's been acting out, too, and don't even get me started on Ellie today… Why she couldn't have started misbehaving and intentionally trying to get a reaction out of people when she was _older _instead of right now is completely beyond me.

I guess that Jake and Scott don't exactly appreciate having practically an entire colony of ants stuffed into their pillows at night. I'll admit, I did a similar thing with Duck when I was her age, but I at least didn't dump the entire friggin' anthill into his bed!

"I'll make sure to bring it up on our next scavenging run," I nod as Kelly smiles in appreciation.

"Well, I didn't want to be a bother, but James… sometimes he gets – "

"Trust me," I interrupt, wiping the bangs out of my eyes, "I know firsthand what he can be like. A total asshole one day, and then calm and helpful the next – he changes moods like he changes shirts. Your secret's safe with me."

Looking slightly impressed, almost as if she still can't believe who it is she's talking to, Kelly blinks a few times before breaking off into a small smile. "Thanks, Clem," she praises, patting my shoulder in a friendly manner. The two of us warmed up to each other pretty early on, and we've actually found that we can count on each other a lot more than we had originally believed. "Anyways, I'd better get back to it. James will ring my head in if I don't finish up with the blood samples… again, please don't say anything…"

"I won't, don't worry."

Silently watching for a minute or two as she gets working on organizing the capsules in alphabetical order by first name, my mind wanders as very dark thoughts sneak their way into my head. I always get nervous when James handles stuff like this – anything to do with blood or people or medicines that I'm not completely sure about. He hasn't given me a whole lot of reason to trust him, after all, what with all that I had found out about this place before. I've still managed to hold that info close to my chest – partly because I don't want to scare anyone by it… but also as for possibly a future reference.

James tried a while back to convince me that without the proper experimental team with him, that he's since had to disband the experiments on humans and that he's looking for alternate means to find a cure for the disease.

How stupid does he really think I am though?! Disbanded the experiments my ass! He wouldn't have been so pumped, excited and intent on finding a cure like that beforehand for him to just give up on his research that easily! No way is he done with this stuff, and I could only assume that Bo would suspect something too! He seems to be the only one of the two that I can actually trust with things these days. Bo's kind of like my go-to advisor, if you will.

And yet, even he isn't speaking to me recently! What the hell is going on around here?

As Kelly slowly turns her head in questioning as to why I'm still leaned up against the office door, I realize that I've been staring at the medical equipment for longer than I should be and quickly turn to leave. That's a bad habit of mine that I've developed far too much, and, as I just witnessed right there, tends to freak people out sometimes. I get so lost in my own little world sometimes that I occasionally forget that I'm actually still on planet Earth.

Oh well, some things really can't be helped.

_You can do anything you set your mind to, sweet pea, _Lee whispers in my ear – or at least, my imagining of him does. The voice is very distant and echo-y this time around, which is… a good thing? I guess? Certainly better than it usually is, and I feel that I've got at least a little bit more control over my own demons than I had before. Besides, nobody's ever brought it up with me, so there's really no need for me to say anything about it. Right?

Wanting to take my mind off of that kind of stuff with some good, old-fashioned planning and inventory checking, I sigh before banking a left and heading to the boardroom. Maybe a nice once-over of the scouting reports will be enough to clear my head. It certainly is enough to bore me to tears half the time at least.

My heart starts to race, however, when I see through the tinted glass that somebody is already inside; rooting around through something on the table. The person's too small to be anyone on the round table (which includes me, James, Bo, Tommy, Lilly and Jane), and the back of their head is covered by a hoodie that hides their identity from me. So, instinctively I bend down into a crouching position and pull out my pistol.

Trying to be as stealthy as I can, I slowly open the door handle and poke my head inside; prepared to apprehend the culprit and bring them to justice.

* * *

_**Tommy's POV **_

Good god this kid can be fucking annoying! All the way there and all the way back it's been, _Tommy? Yo, earth to Tommy Hilfiger! Hey! Hey, Tommy, guess what?_

I swear, if I didn't have so much to contend with and keep to myself already, I probably would've turned around and clocked Alden right in the nose!

"Quite the haul that we're bringing back, huh?" Alden speaks yet again; a soft smirk planted upon his lips as he ogles our supplies with a sense of pride. If nothing else, I'll definitely give him that – we made off pretty big this time around. "Kitchen knives, sweaters, cans of food… come to think of it though, out of all of this stuff we've got, I'm thinking that people are gonna treat us like fucking gods for bringing back these coffee grinds. Some of these people would probably kill to get their hands on the stuff."

Finally managing to get the first and slightest of smirks out of me all day, Alden's grin somehow becomes even bigger as I shake my head in amusement. "I wouldn't doubt that," I say suddenly, and just like that my grin is replaced with a familiar frown; reminded once again of who it is that we're living with.

Alden probably doesn't even have the faintest idea about what's going on right under our noses.

Noticing my hesitance as the space centre once again comes into view, Alden carefully pats me on the shoulder with encouragement. Bless this kid's soul – he doesn't know any better. He doesn't know about what this world can do to the cruel hearts of men.

"You know, my partner was like you back then. Back when he was still alive," he reveals to me, piquing my interest for a brief moment. I didn't realize that he was… well, gay to be blunt. He didn't strike me as such when I first met him, but that was probably just me stereotyping again. "Paul was a stubborn fool at the best of times – never wanted to trust anybody that he didn't know, and always, _always _wouldn't open up to anybody that he didn't know. It's like looking in a damn mirror with you."

"Hey, now!" I retort in annoyance, feeling a mighty bit miffed that he's suggesting I'm some loner who doesn't want to get along with anybody. I actually feel the opposite of that sentiment – I _want _to get to know people, and I _want _to open up.

But keeping a secret this big is definitely taking its toll. I can't keep holding this in, and yet I can't tell a single soul about what I've seen. It's driving me crazy knowing that I can't do a damn thing about it!

"…but he was also extremely kind, and loyal to the core if you got close to him," Alden continues, clearly reliving some fond memory of which I'll never know. That's for the best, I think. We've all got things in our past that we want to keep close to our hearts. "Paul never wanted to hurt anyone. He was always the go-to guy that our small group could count on, no matter what the task. I would've gone to hell and back if he could still be here with me right now," he mentions sadly, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "It could've been a whole lot easier for him, you know. If only he had just… talked to me about his feelings instead of just bottling them all up inside! Then maybe I could've helped him with all that depression and guilt, and then… then… maybe the suicide wouldn't have happened…"

Feeling that saying anything right now wouldn't really be appropriate, I close my mouth as I turn my gaze ahead and wait for him to continue. Maybe it's not _me _that needed to talk after all. Perhaps Alden really hasn't had a real strong tie to anyone because it's _he _who's choosing to keep to himself.

Maybe we're more alike than I had thought.

"Just…" he cuts himself off, sighing miserably as he studies my face, "just don't let that happen to you, alright? Whatever's been on your mind lately… maybe you don't have to go through it alone."

As Alden trapes his way through the thin layer of mud along the path, barely even noticing as the sticky, brown substance attaches itself to his shoes and the bottom of his pant legs, I know that there's no going back this time. If only it were so easy to talk to people about this – Alden, this time I really _do _have to go through it alone. Bo wasn't bluffing when he made that threat, and I'd rather not test the theory even if he was. This is a secret that I'll have to carry with me to the grave, unless people start to figure it out for themselves.

…I can't wait that long, though. This place no longer seems like the home that I thought it would be. Too many liars, too many secrets, too much backstabbing. I won't be a part of it anymore.

Making my final, heavy-hearted decision in my head, I sigh before following along; giving my head a shake when I think that I see two people hiding out over by some abandoned cars a few ways off.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

Our mysterious trespasser still hasn't noticed me yet as I cling close to the wall like a spider; slowly maneuvering my way towards the person as I narrow my eyes and focus on the target. I won't kill them, since they haven't given me any real reason to do so just yet, but I've still got my gun out all the same.

One thing that I've definitely noticed is the hand shaking – whoever's rotting around in here is definitely getting nervous, as if they know that they're in an off-limits area of our home right now. The person's (whoever it is) breathing is also very jagged and forced, and occasionally they'll swing their head side to side as I instinctively freeze and hide behind a chair so that I'm not spotted. I guess being small still has its advantages, so I'll make the most of them while I can.

Standing to full height, I place a firm grip on the person's shoulder and spin them around; revealing that it's Kazuki who's in here as I quickly place my pistol back into my pocket. "Jesus, Kaz! What the hell are you doing in here?!" I demand, watching as her eyes widen in fear while she quickly gulps in anxiousness. In her grasp was a whole stack of papers containing highly valuable information that we were using – the girl's definitely not supposed to have these in her possession.

Trying a different approach seeing as how she looks terrified enough as it is, I force out a small smile as she takes a step back from me. It's almost as if she's afraid of what I might do next, and that kind of saddens me a little bit. I wouldn't hurt anyone like…

…oh, right…

"Why don't you and I go take a walk so you can tell me what's going on?" I offer, holding out an arm for her to link in between, but she immediately shakes her head and eyes the papers desperately like some kind of hard-core drug addict. "Kaz, no – let's just head out, alright? Nobody will even have to know that you were sneaking around in here. Just follow me, ok?"

But she won't listen to me, instead grabbing the papers shakily as a bunch of them slip through her fingers. Kazuki tries to make a break for it, but I grab onto her shirt and choke her backwards, turning her around to face me as my fake persona is replaced with my intimidating one.

"Don't," I warn, my grip getting firmer as I dig my nails slightly into her shoulder, hoping that she'll get the message. "Kaz, put those back on the table. Right. Now. I'm not gonna ask you again."

Practically on the verge of tears, the girl persists as she tries to get away from me; smacking me across the cheek as she tries to sprint for the door. I manage to get a good angle on her as I roughly tackle her into the wall and violently shake her shoulders around.

"Pl-please…" she begs me with tears in her eyes; totally afraid. Whether of me or something else, I'm not too sure. "He… he'll kill me if I don't…"

With one little line, the scenario is practically flipped completely upside down. "What?!" I question urgently, feeling slightly bad that I treated her so roughly. "Kaz, you need to tell me – who's out there right now? I can't let you leave this room until I know what I need to. Who's threatening you out there?"

"No! I can't… he said not to say a word to anyone… It's too late now! He'll know that I blabbed! I'm dead! He's gonna… he's gonna kill me next!"

"Kaz… nobody's gonna do anything to you, I promise. I would never let that happen, I'm your friend. You can trust me," I reassure softly, clutching one of her hands as she reluctantly hands over the information to me. As she leans her forehead against my shoulder, visibly upset as she fears for her life, I notice that the papers are almost all maps and various route patterns that we've used to get around. Who would want something like these? "In order for me to help you though, you have to tell me who they are. Is it someone living here? Is it a bandit outside?"

"…Joshua…" she finally cracks, backing up until she hits the table behind her. I've never seen her so frightened in my entire life, but I can sure as hell see why now. That asshole… I thought they were gone for good! "What… what are we gonna do?"

Taking a moment to myself, I eventually toss the stack of maps back onto the board room table and fold my arms together; startling Kazuki a little bit.

"There's only one thing we can do," I point out with a determined, pissed off expression. "We're gonna need some help. You come with me, alright?" I tell her, not wanting to make the same mistake by letting her take off with our goods and handing them over anyways. Knowing Joshua, he'd probably just shoot her right between the eyes immediately after she'd served her usefulness. "Let's get going – we've got a group meeting to plan."

* * *

"…fuck sakes," Racheal comments after I lay down the situation, probably as angry as any of them to learn that that prick has returned. "You're sure it was him? You're positive that that it wasn't just some creepy asshole out there trying to make stupid threats that he couldn't back up?"

Shaking my head, I glance down at Kazuki as she shudders; sitting in a chair as Ellie wraps a blanket around her shoulders. No, by the look on her face and the fear in her eyes when I caught her in here, this couldn't be anyone else.

I can see why she'd be so fearful – Josh is a scary guy when he wants to be.

Practically putting the whole group into a quiet conniption, I try to settle the masses as Bo lets out a shrill whistle to gather everyone's attention. Damn, that's loud!

"We can't just all go rushing out there at once," I state, making sure that my ears are still working as the ringing starts to die down, "he'll be expecting that sort of thing."

"Then what do you suggest?" Katie questions, still not on the greatest terms with me after that helicopter incident.

Watching as all eyes look towards me, I try to address the crowd with as much confidence and capability as I can muster up. Lilly and Jane stand there, both giving me encouraging nods as I smirk over towards them. Thank god for those two, honestly.

Clearing my throat, I return to the issue at hand as I use my hands for added effect. "Joshua wants Kazuki to bring these to him…" I point out, holding the stack for people to see. "He thinks he's in control… What's gonna happen when he realizes that he _isn't_?"

"We're gonna let him think that way… brilliant…" Jane compliments as I nod my head with eagerness.

"Exactly – I'll come out to meet him, Kaz will stay in the back. When I give the signal, pop out and have your guns ready. We won't shoot, but we'll get him to flee – we'll follow him and see where he takes us."

"What if he's leading us into a trap?" Racheal voices her doubt, getting a round of concerned nods from the rest of our fellow survivors. "The guy's a psychopath, Clem. Believe me, we know. I wouldn't put it past him if he lead us straight into a barrage of gunfire if he could help it. It'd be the most natural reaction he could have."

Seeing that she does have a point there, I bite my lip as I mull over the possibilities. I hadn't given it much thought past driving him off of our lands, which really is a rookie mistake. Good thing that she brought it up when she did.

"…then only a handful of us will go," I improvise, looking at a few faces in particular as I list them off. "Racheal, Jane, Lilly, Emily, Ellie and I will go. The rest will hang back and cover the fort. We'll bring these walkie-talkies so we can communicate with you all."

"Wait a minute, what?! You're letting _Ellie _go but not me?! What the hell?!" Kazuki exclaims, surprising me since earlier she was almost too nervous to speak coherently. I'm guessing that she'd want some sort of revenge on his ass… but revenge makes people careless. It gets them killed, and I won't allow that.

Not under my watch and protection it won't.

"I'd feel a lot easier knowing that she's with me," I point out, trying my best not to look over at James as I try to put this as delicately as possible. "Besides, we need people back here to defend this place, and you're our last line. I'm not making the same mistakes again."

Stepping forward, Jake places his hands on his hips as he prepares to speak his mind. "We can cover you from the air if you need it," he suggests, still looking a little peeved about having our stuff almost stolen right under our noses. "It might be a good idea – give you some more ground to cover in case you lose sight of him."

"Actually," Bo chips in, casting a brief glance over to Tommy as he gives him a wink, "we need you three to search out east for us. This might just be the start of some big takeover plot that we're unaware of, so we need you to fly out for a little bit to see if anyone's trying to sneak up on us. We need to know what we're dealing with."

"Is it settled then? Is everyone alright with this plan?" I try confirming, making sure that there aren't any objections as I wait patiently for any head shakes. I can tell that not everyone is at complete ease with it, but sometimes a stupid plan is the one and best plan that we've got, and today is no exception. "Alright then, this is it. I'll head out alone while the rest of you follow James and Bo out the back. Joshua won't even suspect a thing."

* * *

Taking a few shaky breaths as I lean my hands on the cold metal of the door, I stifle together my courage and put on a brave face as I step outside. The sun's starting to go down, which kind of puts a damper on our plans to follow them since we'll be searching in the dark. On the flip side though, that just means that Joshua will have to find his way through in the inky darkness as well, so that's at least some good news I suppose.

I've got it all laid out in my head – how I'll act, what I'm gonna say and how this is all gonna be executed. Easier said than done, obviously, but I think my flare for the dramatic has gotten at least a tiny bit better with my time spent here. I've had to face much worse things than simply deal with an asshole like this guy.

The problem comes into play with how _Josh _will react – will he try to shoot on site? Will he get careless and try to put on a bravado of his own in order to try and act all superior?

_Sigh… _only one way to find out. He's come out of his hiding spot at least, with what appears to be another person standing behind him, so here goes nothing.

Acting all casually, I stroll up to him with my hands in my pockets; fingers grazing over my pistol just in case this all goes to hell.

"Couldn't just leave well enough alone, could ya?" I remark, not bothering for pleasantries and instead heading right to the fun stuff. Joshua looks pretty annoyed that it's me who's come out to meet him and not Kazuki. "You thought that picking on one of our people was such a great idea, and that absolutely nothing would happen with it. Are you seriously _that _stupid?"

"Listen here you little shit…"

"Ha! That's what everyone calls me now, apparently!" I chuckle, not even caring how much he swears at me. As far as I'm concerned, it just shows that I've already got this in the bag. "When did I get the nickname, and how did it stick? Ah well… Now," I continue with the act, "I'm going to have to politely ask the two of you to leave. As in, right now. You can't use me the same way, Josh. You're messed up shit won't work on me. You can try all you like, but it'll get you absolutely nowhere."

With a devilish smirk, Joshua leans up against the hood of the car with a cocky expression on his face. That's it, jackass… keep thinking you're in control. I'm gonna wipe that stupid look off your face and pull the carpet out from underneath you. You've already underestimated us.

"Seems pretty stupid of you, Clementine – there's one of you, and two of us," he remarks as I grin internally. Oh, if only you knew. "We could've just blasted you away right as you approached, and we could even do it right now, but we're at least showing some restraint. Maybe you should learn from your elders and show a little fucking respect!"

Big mistake right there, Joshy-boy. Big time mistake.

"You didn't really think I'd come out here alone, did you?"

Whistling and raising a fist in the air, I furrow my brow angrily as Joshua and his follower gaze on in shock; coming face to face with an entire base of people as they step out from their hiding spots. Various weapons are pointed at the both of them as they visually start to panic a little bit.

They've fucked up hugely, and they both definitely know it.

"I'm not gonna be nice about it this time around," I snarl, pulling out my own pistol as I aim it straight at Joshua's head. The two of them are too afraid to draw their own weapons. "Get out before I end up putting the both of you to the god damn stake!"

Seeing as they have little to no choice, Josh and his little girlfriend over there visibly pale as they slowly edge their way backwards. Cowards… I knew that they just talked a big game! Nothing there to back up their vulgar threats!

Joshua is about to turn tail and get the hell out of here, when suddenly a shot fires off and hits him right in the shoulder; causing him to wince in excruciating pain as he clutches his wound painfully. Bo's gun smokes as he fiercely glares at the asshole that took his hand back at the mall.

Yeah, I can totally see why Bo would want to do something like that. There's no need to hold it against him.

"FUCK YOU! YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" he shrieks like an idiot, trying not to look weaker than he already seems to be. "YOU'RE ALL FUCKING DEAD! I'LL SEE TO THAT SHIT MYSELF, ASSHATS! WE AREN'T FINISHED HERE! THIS ISN'T OVER!"

"Yes it is," I comment darkly, shooting at his other shoulder as he heads for the hills. It only took two bullet shells for him to finally get rid of the pest. "For you, at least."

Jogging up to the wrecked cars, Elliot bends down to check the scene. "Looks like we've got a blood trail," he mentions, going to examine the icky, red substance for himself. "There's no way he'll be covering that up, not while he's on the run. We might have him on the ropes here…"

Nodding her head, Kelly chips in her two cents as she looms over his shoulder. "If we hurry, we might be able to follow that – just like a wounded buck," I shrug as the rest of us prepare to roll out. "We need to be very careful here, and come back as soon as we find something. _Alive_, preferably."

"We won't be able to use the truck because of the noise it'll attract, so we'd better get moving. We've probably only got a few hours of daylight left," Emily mentions as she shields her eyes from the harsh rays.

Jake, Scott and Luna all quickly head back to the space centre, no doubt to get an early start and sweep the surrounding areas in the helicopter. Why Elliot, Alden, Kelly and Katie are all looking like they're ready to head out on foot is beyond me, since we had already established the fact that only a small group of us are going, but I don't raise an opinion on the matter yet as I try to rally the troops.

"Let's head out then – don't wanna lose the trail already," I point out, fully prepared to track the guy down back to wherever he runs to.

That is, until Lilly puts a hand on my shoulder and tries to stop me.

"No," she shakes her head, looking as though she's set in her ways, "you're not going out there – not this time, Clem. You're staying here with us."

Looking over to Jane, I immediately burst out into a series of chuckles, finding their prank to be totally hilarious. "This is a joke, right? Probably to get back at me for that silly string stuff back then! I thought you would've let it go by now!" I laugh, thinking back to Houston Hills when it was just the three of us as a small, dysfunctional family. When neither of them even break out into a smile, my laughter dies down as I realize that they're serious. "You've gotta be kidding me right now. This isn't funny anymore, Lilly! Joke's over! We've got to go!"

Jane, wanting to step in as she bends down to my height, tries to keep me from rebutting this even further.

"The rest of us talked while you were away," she comments with a heavy heart, leaving me shocked as I was only gone for about ten minutes or so, "and we all agreed that… you should probably sit this one out. Racheal and Emily will lead the scouting team with Alden, Katie, Elliot, Kaz and Kelly, while the rest of us stay behind and recover. You can't keep moving all the time – you need a break, Clementine. Everyone does once in a while."

"That's bullshit, Jane, and you know it! When did the three of us ever get to take a break when we were out there risking our lives, huh?!" I question, trying my best not to contradict myself. "I don't need this, okay?! There are more important things to worry about than whether I need a damn vacation or not! Joshua's out there and we're letting him get… away…"

Cutting myself off, I let an angry growl elicit from the back of my throat as I realize that they've all left except for me, Lilly, Jane, Tommy, James, Bo and Ellie. The helicopter drowns out our voices as it sails overhead, with Scott waving goodbye as they take off towards the east.

God fucking damn it!

"I think the three of us need to have a chat back at the space centre," Lilly encourages, meaning just her, me and Jane as I stubbornly try to refuse. "This'll be a good chance for us, Clem. We all need to get some things off our chests… and there are some things we need to talk to you about in particular."

"I don't need a fucking therapy session!" I exclaim, frightening Ellie a little bit as I force myself to simmer down. James, Bo and Tommy all head back towards the building as they come to realize that the conversation doesn't involve them. "I… I'm fine, okay? I don't need any of this…"

"Clem," Lilly shakes her head, probably having expected that outburst as I give her an apologetic glance, "we all do. Just come on inside, alright?"

Extremely reluctantly, I nod as my shoulders sag and Jane pats my shoulder in support. Ellie grabs onto my hand as she leads me back towards the space centre; still sticking around even though I've probably seemed like an out-of-control monster in front of her eyes most of the time.

In fact, I'm still shocked that any of these three people have decided to stick around me at all.

* * *

_**James' POV **_

Well I'll be damned… it's been quite a while since I've stepped into this place. There really hasn't been any need for me to do so ever since Debbie was killed, since she and my old wife Heather were largely my two inspirations for wanting to be in touch with outer space and the stars and everything else out there, beyond our reach.

I used to have a burning passion for exploration, you know. To be able to visit other planets, search for other solar systems and galaxies, to seek out and make contact with other life forms besides those on Earth… that was my dream back when I was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, young man who had just graduated college and busted out onto the scientific scene. My very first internship took place in an office building here, and the first time that I visited this room was one of the first times that I felt truly… wowed. I was dumbstruck at the size of the rocket, the various people doing all sorts of mathematical and scientific equations as the computer screen came to life with various messages from across the world and beyond.

You could imagine my enthusiasm as an intern – this was it! This was what I wanted to do with my life! I met my first wife here, and I had never looked back. Internships turned into job shadowing. Job shadowing turned into paid co-ops. Paid co-ops finally turned into my first job here, and that turned into a career in the medical and R &amp; D team. Admittedly it might not have been quite as exhilarating as being a famed astronaut up where most of us would only dream of going (I got easily sick going upside down, so that didn't help matters), but I was in a place that I loved, and though not everything was perfect, it was at least perfect for _me_.

Who would've thought that twenty years later, through the worst kinds of tragedies and shit storms coming our way, that I'd be the last one standing out of all of them. I'm the last remaining scientist at the Houston Space Centre.

I suppose that I should feel some sort of pride and sense of accomplishment for lasting so long and for twenty years of loyal service, but the dreams of a young James have largely been shattered over the past several years.

However, even after so long of working here, I can't help but marvel at the technology. The rocket may be forever stationed where it is, but it's like our own little piece of history and scientific discovery – this could be one of the few remaining left in the world, since many of them were likely scavenged for scrap metal and parts. Not this baby, though. Until it rusts, the _Houston SR-71 _will stand the test of time.

Ellie doesn't seem to come in here nearly as much to play anymore, which is understandable. Poor kid… losing anyone at that age let alone your best friend is a pretty tough pill to swallow. I can't even imagine how she'd be feeling about that.

It's funny though – beforehand, I used to get annoyed that her and Riley would be dicking around in the rocket even though I expressly told them not to mess up any of the equipment. They never did listen to me, and naturally they ended up getting a crack in one of the astronaut helmets that now sit up on a rack along with the rest of the space suit.

Now I kind of wish that somebody would come in here and mess around with the rocket controls. It seems so much emptier in here than it used to.

Taking a seat in the spinning chair, I blow off a thin layer of dust and dirt from the old communication station. Remembering how this thing had its own power source beforehand, I flip a switch on the dashboard as it slowly reverberates to life; making me feel more like a disc jockey than a scientist. The communicator probably doesn't have a whole lot of juice left, but for old time's sake I decide to tinker around with it anyways. This baby can pick up radio signals from hundreds of miles away if you know how to program it properly.

And I definitely know how to program it properly. This thing constantly reminds me of that Cerebro machine from the X-Men movies that I used to love.

"You would've loved this thing, Heather," I whisper with a smirk, turning the dials ever so slightly to try and get some sort of radio signal. There aren't a whole lot of them these days with the dead walking about, but occasionally survivors would forget that they still had their walkie-talkies on, so Bo and I would have a little fun and listen in on their conversations. There was never a dull day around here, that's for sure.

When I finally do manage to pick something up, I turn the volume switch a little higher and cringe as it makes a high, squeaky sound for a second before coming back down to a reasonable level.

"Is this thing on?" someone on the other line questions as I raise my eyebrows in surprise. I didn't expect to find something so soon. "Please, if there's anyone out there… well… if anyone's still alive, that is… then please pick up… God, we're in a bad way up here…"

Picking up the microphone from its stand to the right of the control panel, I tap on it a few times as I prepare to give them a verbal answer. It sounds like they're in trouble!

"Hello? Are you there? Is _anyone _there?" I ask, knowing that the microphone is working as I can hear my own voice creating airwaves through the machine. Little lines go up and down like waves as the tone of my voice drops and raises. "My name is James Folsom – I'm a doctor and scientist over at the Houston Space Centre in… well, Houston, Texas. If you can hear me, please respond! I'm – "

"Looks like nobody's out there. I don't hear a sound, John," the man on the other end sighs, making me frown in confusion. Can't they hear me? "Alright, well… this'll give me something to do at least. Instead of just sitting around up here on my ass all day and night. We've been trying for two weeks, but none of you have answered. Your signal's gone dark, and… we can only assume the worst."

_This must be on a loop that they've sent out; an old message, _I think to myself, carefully placing the mic back on its stand as I fold my hands together and rest them under my chin. Might as well listen to what they have to say – whoever they are.

Hearing some static coming from the other end, I'm about to just change the channel and find another signal, but eventually it stops as the guy manages to fix it up somewhat. The man sounds as though he's given up all hope – something that's become a common theme amongst many these days.

"…where do I even start with this? Honestly, man… we're pretty screwed up here, and that's putting it nicely," the guy chuckles bitterly as I hear another man cough violently. "Don't struggle too much, John. It… you'll be at peace soon enough… Can you see out the window, man? That's Earth, remember? You know, the place where you fucked over your girlfriend 'cause you were too thick to say goodbye to her? The place where I managed to single-handedly doom the entire human race to extinction because of our screw-up around here? Yeah… that one…"

Holy shit… this signal is coming from the International Space Station! We haven't had contact with them in… geez, it's gotta be two years at least now!

And what do they mean they fucked over the human race? How could they have –

…the chemical formula. Oh my god, no…

"James, if you're still there man, just… just know that this message speaks directly to you," he comments, having no doubt in my mind now as I listen intently. "We uhh… oh Jesus, how do I even put this shit into words? We… the capsules up here? The T-28 that you needed? The containers exploded – sent half our crew out on a one-way ticket to the emptiness of space as it broke off over half of the space station. I'm guessing you never mentioned that the stuff was volatile if large amounts of it were exposed? So yeah – I'd like to personally say fuck you. Your screw-up just murdered half my crew. It's more than likely gonna kill us, too. Almost our entire supply of food, water and medicine was with the rest of our stuff, and now it's floating somewhere in space. Fuck you… fuck you… fuck you."

Feeling a deep sense of regret and loss and guilt, I pluck off my glasses as I tiredly rub my eyes. This message is definitely old, and has likely been playing on a feedback loop via satellite for quite some time now. At this point, I doubt that the person who sent it is even alive anymore.

The message continues as he calms himself down. I recognize the voice now – this is Dr. Floyd, an old colleague of mine whom I used to idolize back in the day. I was always so jealous of him back then, as I'd always envied his ability to go up in space and do all the cool things that astronauts got to accomplish. How much more fulfilled could your life possibly be than being able to go up there?

Funny how even after all of those aspirations, I'm still alive on Earth while Dr. Floyd is dead up in space.

"…I suppose it's not entirely your fault, though," he adds in as I roll my eyes. Gee, thanks for the compliment, jackass! "We shouldn't have been trying to handle that stuff; shouldn't have tried to handle it at all. We probably should've just tossed all the canisters outside to float around. Probably would've saved their lives, come to think of it. One little mistake and it's the end… that message hasn't been lost on me, let me tell you."

Getting slightly agitated that he isn't getting to the point, I sadly sit back in the chair and allow my arms to fall to my sides limply. There are very few feelings worse than feeling responsible for the deaths of those that you didn't intend to kill.

"If you still have any of that shit, just… don't let it go to waste on Earth, okay? Make up for your mistakes, and get the job done. Do it for them… or if no one else, then for yourself," he advises me as he prepares to end the message once and for all. "We don't have a whole lot of time up here. John… he doesn't want this anymore. He doesn't want to starve to death… so I've got the gun in a case near my feet. He won't feel any more pain… and then I think I'm gonna blow my brains out, too," he adds as I feel the sorrow and misery in his voice coming through like the sun. "James, if you're already dead, or if you've up and abandoned your post… then none of this is gonna matter. The human race will be extinct without the proper know-how to bring it back from the brink, and this will have been for nothing. Don't waste this, alright? And make sure you tell Debbie that you – "

As his voice is cut off and the message stops for a second, I quickly turn the volume dial back down and switch off the machine; sitting there with an unreadable expression as the room gets darker from the outside.

Bringing it back from the brink… I suppose that's all that I can do in these times, really. So that's what I'll do. I was born for a reason, and if that reason is to help the majority by fucking over the minority, then so be it. I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines and banging my head against the same, old wall.

For once, I'm gonna do something with my life.


	18. I won't stand by

_AN: Alright, two more shoutouts here!_

_This one's for Rebloxic, if you guys have been living under a rock, he's the guy who's made such classics as Apocalyptic Survival, Big Brother and plenty others! The guy's really funny and talented, so be sure to check out his stuff if you get a chance! We're also working on Twisted Fates together if you were interested!_

_Next up is Bubbles2K100 (AKA Meg) – she's a really talented writer and would looooovvveee for you guys to review her stories! Trust me, they're really excellent and bring home the feels lol! Her and Rebloxic are actually working on a story together as well, so if you have the time then definitely check out Baby Clementine and Diving Into the Unknown!_

_Btw, I'm making Clem fifteen, since I'm going to say that this chapter is her birthday of sorts. So happy birthday, Clem :)_

_**Also, we still need signatures for the Lilly Petition (I think it was 219 needed, last time I checked). If you'd like to sign and possibly make a difference, then I have the link for the petition in my profile. Thanks!**_

* * *

_**CLEM'S AGE: 15, Clem's POV **_

Another day, another year that passes by. Another year that I've beaten the odds and overcome this hell of a world that we all inhabit nowadays.

That's right, world – I've played your little game, and I've won this round yet again. You've tried to break me, tried to beat me down senselessly and have almost caused me to throw in the towel on several occasions.

But not today. I'm not giving into the temptation; not gonna call it quits just because it's hard. Living is difficult – it's dying that's the easy part. All you'd have to do is sit back and let go.

Clinging to your last breath and fighting so that your group can have food for just one more night? Nothing in this world can compare to the overwhelming helplessness you feel when you're down on your luck, starving and trying to hold onto one sliver of hope.

Yes, living is by far more difficult than dying.

But the pay-off is always worth it, no matter the cost and heartache. Living is all we have to look forward to.

"Living is everything…" I repeat quietly under my breath, calmly stroking Ellie's head as I've been doing for the past few hours or so. She fell fast asleep quite a while ago on my lap, and yet for some strange reason I haven't had the desire to move her. It's a sort of calming sensation that overtakes me when I'm close to this kid – it makes me feel like I'm actually doing some good in a person's life instead of trying too hard and making things worse.

That's the one thing about being in the cabin crew and the group after we had escaped Howe's that I absolutely despised. Every single day, people would doubt me and think that I was completely incapable of anything. Carlos definitely thought that way, as did Bonnie, Nick, Rebecca, Alvin… hell, I think even _Luke _might've at one point. He might not have said it, but I could tell.

Even Kenny did to a certain extent. Always badgering me about what I could and couldn't do… it's not that I didn't appreciate what they were trying to do for me, but in all honesty I think their incessant need to look after me was holding me back.

Maybe that's why I felt so strongly towards Jane at first.

Hoping that I don't end up being too overprotective towards Ellie, I reluctantly shuffle off the bed without waking her up at all. This _break _that I'm getting is really messing with my head, and in all honesty it's getting me pretty frustrated. I don't need time off! I'm not retiring or anything, and I'm certainly not getting old! I don't want or need to go out on the weekends to play golf and drink tea and chat like the rest of the old geezers used to do! I don't intend to be mean about it, but you get the idea!

Feeling that a nice, brisk walk at night will be enough to clear my head, I open the drawer to get my pistol as I prepare to head out. If that "talk" that we're going to have tomorrow is as meaningless as I picture it'll be, then I'm gonna need all the opportunities to clear my head that I can afford.

Fondly brushing a loose strand of red hair away from her angelic face, I plant a light kiss on Ellie's forehead as I start to head out.

"Sweet dreams, kiddo," I whisper, opening the door and quietly shutting it closed behind me.

* * *

I used to hate shopping at places like this when I was a kid, and it certainly doesn't bring up any fond memories now as I open the door to an old, abandoned clothing store. I'd practically beg my mom not to take me here whenever she was going out to do errands, but somehow I almost always wound up accompanying her anyways. Unfortunately, Sandra had a life outside of just trying to look after me, so I had no choice to go through the depths of hell and get bored out of my mind while my mother made me try on about a thousand different outfits.

_They're just clothes! Why do they have to match? I'm gonna put whatever I feel like on anyways, _I remember telling her once, to which she just giggled and said that I'd figure it out when I was older; that I'd somehow _appreciate _it more.

Well, I'm now fifteen now (as far as I can tell), and my hatred of clothes shopping hasn't diminished in that time span. I do have to admit though; it still doesn't smell half bad even though there are walkers lurking about.

Pulling out my gun, I hold it out in front of me as I prepare to end their undead lives. Grr… Can't they just leave me alone for ONE DAY?!

A bullet whizzes into the first walker's cranium as it falls flat onto the hardwood floor, as does its buddy as I put another bullet into the second one's head. James' explanation of what goes on inside of their heads keeps ringing in my ears, and I can't help but wonder if at some point the walkers will just… just rot themselves away like an old apple or something. I mean, they're dead, right? Shouldn't that mean that like any dead person, their bodies will eventually just disintegrate or something? That'd certainly help move things along.

Not wanting to waste too many bullets on walkers that I could take out in other ways, I put my gun into my pocket as I grab onto a partially-melted candle stick that they used to sell back in the day. The metal thing that holds it up is still attached to it, so I pull out my lighter and ignite the wick on top.

Candles are good for one thing – romantic dinners, and fighting off dead guys.

Kicking the beast in the knee as I have done so many times before, I bring the flame close to the walker's head as it snarls at me. It can't feel pain, but it's rather disturbing seeing the skin and hair quickly start melting away as I conduct my experiment. Will fire be enough to kill them? Or will it just make them even freakier-looking than they were before?

I decide to find out for myself as I crunch my shoe on the back of both of its legs; hearing a sickening snapping sound as its brittle bones are crushed underneath my heels. The walker's head burns intensely as the wood underneath it crackles and burns. Only the entrance part of the floor is made of wood, so thankfully nothing else will catch fire, and it sure as hell manages to add some much-needed light to this dim, dark building.

I don't even feel an ounce of sympathy for the creature as I turn away to examine some of the clothing racks that haven't been looted yet. If anyone else were here with me, I'd probably seem completely insane, but what they don't know won't hurt them… Sometimes I need a little dark side to balance out the light, you know?

Knowing that the fire will only burn for so long, I begin examining the various racks and shelves as I start searching for what I really came here for – something a little more respectable than just a ratty, old t-shirt. Even in the apocalypse, I need to make sure that I seem like I know what I'm doing. How am I supposed to inspire the masses if I'm dressed like a hobo?

Seeing nothing but dresses, brightly-coloured rain coats and scattered shoes at first, I start to get discouraged about finding anything useful. _Take only what we need_, I remember Lilly telling me once, and unfortunately none of these really match the bill as far as I can see. How ridiculous would I be, trying to lead a group of adults wearing a bright yellow, rubber-looking rain jacket? I'd look like a rubber duck in that thing!

As I'm about to cut my losses and head back, out of the corner of my eye I see something just sitting there in the corner – a dusty, old, brownish-black leather jacket that's only been weathered by time. Other than smelling a little musty and having a small tear here and there, this thing almost looks brand new.

Hearing the walker snarl and the flesh burns away from its bones, I bring the jacket with me outside a small fitting room with a cracked mirror.

A cracked mirror means a cracked soul, according to some of my more superstitious friends back at the space centre. I usually just tune out their conversations about how standing in front of a cracked mirror signals your death, and I always make a point of it to try and do all of the things that they say _never _to do. Bad luck doesn't exist – everything happens for a reason.

Even if that reason seems completely crazy and out of our hands, we still have to accept the fact that these events still occur.

Placing my backpack on the floor, I slip my arms through the sleeves of the jacket as I give it a quick once-over in the un-smashed sections of the mirror. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Combined with my brownish-beige cargo pants that I'm wearing, I'd say that I look a lot more like a leader than I did before. Appearances aren't everything, mind you, but in certain circumstances they sure do help.

_Heh, only took me two or three years, Jane, _I think smugly to myself, reminded of our conversation back when we were looking for Sarah, Luke and Nick. As a matter of fact, I think that I look a lot more like Jane than I had before – it's kind of a cool feeling, I must say.

But the big, messy bush on my head has definitely got to go next. It's about time that I've had another haircut.

Grabbing an old pair of scissors out of my pack, I bring up a chair as I take my hat off and gingerly place it on the floor. Alright, just like last time. Nice and easy, just… just like Lee had done it before.

…sometimes thinking about him occasionally gets me into a moment of pause and reflection. While our time together was very short, he still taught me quite a lot of the basics about survival – shooting a gun, keeping the hair short, how to avoid walkers, how to keep you and your crew safe, that kind of thing.

I know that it's bad, but if it weren't for me being able to see and hear him in my head from time to time, I wouldn't even remember what he looked like. It's been six years now, I think, and I've met so many people now that it's not exactly a surprise.

Doesn't mean I feel great about it though.

Undoing the hair ties that Lilly gave me so long ago, I frown as I realize that one of them is almost entirely ripped to shreds, and the other one's not faring much better. They were pretty damn sturdy while they lasted, but like the rest of me, maybe it's time for a change.

Staring in the mirror as I hold the scissors delicately in my hand, for a brief moment I can see myself as an eight year old once again; seeing Lee standing right behind me on the train and showing me the realities of life. That was the day that I finally came to realize that it wasn't gonna be all fun and games – from then on out, I needed to know how to take care of myself. There might not have always been someone around to show me how to do things, and eventually the day would come where I'd have to put my survival skills to the test.

Looks like I passed that, at least. Taking the scissors, I raise them behind my head and start cutting the jungle that is my hair. By the time I finish and hunks of hair are left scattered all over the floor, I look like a whole new person – a sharper, more respectable person.

Figuring originally that I was just going to put my hair back into the signature two ponytails that I normally would do, I stop for a moment and hold the back of it into just one. Deciding to try it out for a bit of a change of pace, I place the other hair thingy (as I still don't know what it's called) back into my bag as I nod at my reflection. There – a jacket like Jane's, and a haircut kind of like Lilly's. I guess they've really rubbed off on me after all.

With a new look to start off the next chapter of my life, I briefly debate on whether I should leave my hat in my bag and start off my fifteenth year completely different.

…ha! As if! Chuckling, I immediately erase the thought from my mind before I shake my head and put it back on.

There are just certain things that should always be there, you know? My hat practically defines me for most people.

I finish with the little grooming just in time as the fire finally starts to die out, leaving a burnt, undead corpse in its wake as I quietly walk back towards the entrance. Looks to me as though fire doesn't completely kill walkers, but it certainly makes them a hell of a lot weaker, as this guy can barely find it within himself to look up at me.

Picking up the metal candle stick mold once again, I bash the walker's head in until the thing is actually stuck within the skull and dark, crimson blood oozes down the side of it. _One less to deal with, _I internally think as I leave the place behind for good; riddled with dead bodies as I start heading back to the space centre.

Best if nobody finds out what I've done here tonight, wouldn't you say?

* * *

_**Tommy's POV **_

"BO! DON'T YOU FUCKING WALK AWAY FROM ME!" I yell down the hallway; hands balled into fists as I angrily stomp my way towards him. Honestly, I couldn't give two shits if everyone else heard what I am about to say to this punk. It'd certainly make things easier on me and more difficult on him. "Turn around and face me like a man! I've got a bone to pick with you, asshole!"

Sighing as if he's heard this sort of thing a thousand times before, Bo reluctantly stops in his tracks as he waits for me to approach. This is it – I've finally made my decision, and all there is left to do now is to seal the deal. After this, I'll never have to deal with him or James ever again.

Fuck this place. I don't care if its intentions are good – it still doesn't justify the harsh treatment that it dishes out without anyone noticing. But I know, oh yes. They thought that they could hide this shit from everyone and keep anybody from questioning their ambitious motives, but I'm not willing to turn a blind eye any longer. Not to this.

I wouldn't even call it experimenting. That'd be an insult to all the medical professionals and scientific wizards who actually tried to help people with legitimate means.

"What? Did I leave the laundry in for too long again?" he jokes, though I'm in no mood for any of his games. This is serious business here. "Now judging by your face, I'd say that you're not exactly here to have a nice, friendly chat," he adds, raising a questioning eyebrow. "What's the deal here, Tommy? Have you been enjoying your stay at the Space Centre Hotel these past few years? You really ought to try and help out some more around here, otherwise people might start to think – "

"Shut up," I hiss, glaring intensely at him to show that I'm not kidding around. "I've had more than enough of you and your repulsive, bitchy face staring at me behind my back. And I don't give a shit about your stupid threats anymore, Bo. I'm getting you off my back one and for all – I'm done."

"I'm sure you'll be making a point eventually?"

Jabbing a finger roughly in his chest, I suddenly feel like my angry, jacked-up brother than myself for a second. Joel was always the tougher one of the two of us, while I'd like to think I had more on the brains side.

Sometimes, however, I wish that I could be nearly as intimidating as my big brother used to be whenever you pissed him off. It wouldn't make me a whole lot of friends, but it'd certainly make me feel a bit better knowing that I could instill some fear into my enemies.

"I don't care what kind of reasons you have behind it! There's absolutely no way I'm just gonna stand by and watch as you tear this place apart with your fucked up ambitions!" I rage, surprised at how much venom I'm able to put behind my words. Bo doesn't seem too impressed with me. "And you threatening my life like that? You really think that shit's gonna fly with me? I'd sooner chop off your balls and feed 'em to the wolves than let you tie me to a fucking tree! That does it! I'm finished with you! I'm finished with this whole fucking place, and I hope that all that murdering you and James have been doing comes crashing down on top of you!"

Wiping a wad of my spit off of his face and leering at me with malice, Bo tries to come up with a comeback as I begin to turn around and leave. I don't wanna stick around here any longer than I have to. I've said my piece, and I've got no regrets for what I've said to him. As far as I'm concerned, that was a long time coming.

I do feel a little inkling of sadness, however, as it seems that Ellie's been hiding behind the corner the whole time and had just listened to me swear like an idiot at the man.

"Ellie," Bo calls out as I stop a ways away from her, "go back to your room, alright? Or how about you head downstairs and I'll meet you in a few? Tommy and I have to have… a _grownup _talk."

"But I want to – "

"Just do it, alright? No excuses, I don't want you to hear this."

Getting a wicked idea, I turn my head back towards Bo with a terrible glint in my eye. This could be a wonderful opportunity to get Bo to spill the beans himself.

I've got a gun in my pocket just in case.

"I think that she deserves to know, wouldn't you say?" I remark smugly, raising my hands to the side to prove my point. "She lives here – she's just as much a part of this community as you or I are! Why not stand up and face the music here, Bo? Tell her! Tell her the real reason that you and James have been sneaking behind people's backs and – "

"GO!" Bo roars, startling the poor kid as she nods and quickly does as requested. What a fucking cowardly asshole… I knew that he wouldn't fess up!

Once he's assured that Ellie's made her way back downstairs and out of earshot for good, Bo storms over to me in a fit of calm yet seething rage. He doesn't tend to blow up, and this is the furthest that I've ever seen him go in terms of anger. I'll admit, he can be a pretty scary guy if you test him too much.

I think that I just did.

As if the emotion is too much for his body to handle, Bo shakes around as he tries to form a coherent sentence. Too much disbelief that I'd be willing to take it this far, I'd imagine.

"Do you even _possess _a working brain here, Tommy?" he questions, tapping on his skull as his eyes scan me for answers. "You going out there and blabbing about what you think you saw would just jeopardize the whole system, and for what? What could you possibly hope to gain out of it, other than threatening even more wasted lives?" he continues as a vein starts popping out of his neck. "Is that really what you want, Tommy? More blood on your hands? I would've thought that murdering my friends here before would be enough for you, but apparently not! Apparently not even close!"

Putting me at a disadvantage as I recall all of those families and people that were torn apart by bullet shells, I try to keep my composure and act like I'm not being affected by his words. Unfortunately, Bo seems to see right through my mask.

"That's not what I want…"

"No, no, no… what you want is irrelevant. Your notions of what's right or wrong are completely irrelevant, and whether or not you approve of what we do here is also irrelevant," he interrupts crossly as he decides to rail on the insults in a last-ditch effort to see me fail. "Whether you like it or not," he adds, "our operation here is working to save the future of our species – sometimes in order to win the big prize, you have a lot more to give up than you do for the smaller ones. I'm not gonna sit here and try to justify myself because I know that you're too… _self-righteous _to ever see the good we're doing here!"

Pausing to catch his breath, I can see the hatred and self-loathing in his eyes, as if even he knows that what he's doing is some of the worst shit that you could possibly do. Together, he and James are plucking unsuspecting people off the street and handing them a death sentence in order for "the good of humanity", but even Bo can't deny that they've become too far gone. If hell actually exists, then I'm sure that those two already have reserved seats.

Come to think of it, though, wouldn't we all be going to hell for some socially-constructed notion of good and evil? Who got to make the rules when the dead came back to life? I certainly didn't get an invite to that meeting!

"I used to be like you; used to believe that there was always another way," he admits, shutting his eyes for a brief moment. "But we've looked, Tommy. We've looked, and there is absolutely _nothing _else out there! So why don't you get off your moral high horse and see the world for what it really is?!"

Despite giving me a lot to think about, I've also got a question for Bo that might cause him to take a step back and reflect on his actions. Maybe this will put things into perspective for him.

"…can I ask you something?" I start off, giving him one last look in the eye before I get ready to leave this place behind permanently. "If you're so sure that this is the only way… how's about you put yourself in the chair next time? See how it feels to have your brain fluid sucked out like a straw. Who knows? Maybe you're the magical cure for humanity…"

Leaving him looking torn and utterly speechless, I let him know how pathetic this is as his gaze drops to the floor and I head out down the hallway to pack my things.

That's what I thought, jackass…

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"Damn… looking spiffy there, Clem!" Jane chuckles as I roll my eyes in amusement. It's really nothing spectacular – just a small change in attire from beforehand. The sleeves may be a little long right now, but I'm sure that I'll grow into it more when I'm a bit older.

For now, it might be a bit of a pain having to roll up the sleeves every single time I need to go out somewhere.

We're up on the roof once again – a familiar spot for all three of us at this point, but it seems like an odd place to have a chat. Usually someone comes up here if they want to just have a nice, quiet evening with nobody else around to bother them, but I suppose this'll do alright for now. It lets Lilly stay on watch as well in case something happens.

Let's get this show on the road, shall we?

"Well… I'm here," I point out, feeling that this is a little out of place. Usually we don't need to set up a damn meeting in order to speak to each other. "So, what did you guys need? Why did you want me up here?"

Sighing as she bends forward a little bit, Lilly motions for me to sit in one of the chairs as she offers me a small smile. "You're on a break, Clem – you can ease off the throttle a little bit," she tells me as I find the irony of her statement. Lilly telling me to take it easy is like Carver telling a person to stop hurting people. "We just want to have a little fun for a change, you know? Like back in the good, old days!"

"Good, old days, huh? Like back when you and Jane were constantly trying to rip each other's heads off while I had to sit around and watch?" I question with a raised eyebrow. "Those don't seem like _fun, happy times _to me. Now what did you really want to ask me about? I shouldn't be sitting up here all safe and sound while the rest of our group is off on some dangerous hunt across the countryside!"

Seeing's how I don't plan on reliving our so-called "glory days", Jane and Lilly turn to each other before shrugging their shoulders. It amazes me sometimes how the two of them by saying so little can communicate so much with each other. Do they have psychic powers or something? Can they communicate telepathically?

_Maybe they've got invisible antennas growing out of their heads, _Duck suggests as I shudder and whisper for him to be quiet. He's not a part of this conversation right now – he has to wait his turn!

My insides tighten as Jane and Lilly both see what I just did.

"…Clem, you need to tell us what's been going on with you," Jane asks cautiously, trying her best not to step into dangerous territory. No… god damn it, this can't be happening right now! "We can't put it off any longer, alright? We're your friends, Clementine – whatever's going on inside your head right now, we can help you with it. Or at least try to anyways."

"There's _nothing _to talk about…" I growl, suddenly feeling very insecure as I start to shy away from the two of them. "Please, just… just stop it! I'm fine!"

"Clementine… you tried to kill the both of us. You almost _did_," Lilly points out, not angrily but in a kind of sympathetic way. "We didn't know what it was you were going through at the time, so Jane and I never said a word about it. But you're hurting, Clem. You know it's true, and you know that we'd never betray your confidence."

Feeling extremely vulnerable and scared of what this could all mean, I practically shrivel into a ball as I wrap my arms around myself and shake my head; tears of fear and horror forming in my eyes as I furiously wipe them away. I intentionally chose to forget about that. I figured that if I tried hard enough, then I could just put that behind me and never have to bring it up ever again. But I was wrong – so very, very wrong.

They've done it… they've exposed me for what I really am…

"You… you're gonna hurt me," I accuse in a delusional fashion as I shake my head. "You and Jane are gonna lock me away! You're gonna tell James and then you're gonna leave me out in the woods to die! YOU THINK I'M FUCKING CRAZY!"

Jane, immediately sensing that this is going to shit, rushes towards me as she firmly places her hands on my shoulders. "Come on, you know that's not true! We would never do anything like that to you, I promise," she tells me, but I can't find it within myself to believe her. What if she's lying to me? What if all of this is just some sort of intervention where they're gonna try and rearrange things and plant shit inside my head?!

What if Jane and Lilly… aren't who I thought they were?

As both of their voices become a blur in my ears, seeing their mouths move and eyes grow wide in worry, my mind races at all the possibilities that could potentially occur if I let my guard down. The voices are my friends… not these impostors that surround me. The images I sprout up, the sweet, melodious voices telling me what I should and shouldn't be doing – those are the ones who speak the truth. They wouldn't lie to me, right? I mean, how messed up do people have to be if they stick themselves within my head and plant false ideas?

Feeling extremely defensive, I glare darkly at Jane as she continues her vain attempt to reassure me that everything's fine. No it's not _fine! _Nothing is anymore! You're all a bunch of liars, and I won't stand for it!

I can't even trust _myself_ to do the right thing anymore, let alone Jane, Lilly and everyone else!

"I thought you were my friends…" I remark bitterly through my teeth, not wanting them to see me break down like this. At the same time, though, I don't really give a damn. In a miserable, twisted way, I want them to see the pain and anger that's been caused inside of me. If the cards have already been laid out on the table, then I might as well go all in.

"Clementine, you have to listen to us! We _are _your friends, remember? We spent all that time together back then!" Jane reminds me as Lilly nods in agreement. "You were the glue that kept us from drifting apart! You were right – we did try to hurt each other back then. But _you _stopped that from happening! Without you, we'd probably all be dead right now!"

Wanting to step in as well, Lilly tries her luck as she calmly places her rifle to the side as she carefully steps closer towards me. I match her steps by backing up little by little.

"We're not going to hurt you – you have my word. But you have to let us in," Lilly persists, sounding suspiciously like Mike back when he told me to give him the gun. Yeah, and look at how great _that _turned out! "That's what we brought you here for, kiddo. We're up here so that we can all just sit and talk about it – that's it. You're not the only one who's dealing with things, ok? You don't have to go through it alone."

"She's right, Clementine. We can all help you – all of us want to see you get better," Jane adds as I stop moving back altogether. I'm hanging on by a loose thread right now, and all it would take is one tiny cut… "Me, Lilly, Bo, James… everyone," she tells me, listing the people off of her damaged fingers. "And Ellie, Clementine. Think about Ellie – do you think she would want to see you like this? She can help you just like the rest of us can…"

That tiny thread has just been torn apart and lit on fire as the pieces shrivel up into ashes.

"LIAR! NO!" I bellow, going to take my gun out of my pocket but being unable to as Jane quickly snatches my wrist. I resort to pitifully banging my fist against her chest instead as I fear for the kid's safety for about the billionth time. "You… you won't take Ellie away from me! No! I won't let you touch her! Leave her alone!"

Looking confused, Jane reluctantly lets me go as I fall to my butt on the roof, holding my head in my hands as I try to put all the pieces together. I've gone and done it now – no doubt they're wondering what Ellie has to do with anything, and then the stuff of my nightmares will finally be coming true.

"What do you mean we'll take her away?" Lilly asks me as I look up at the two of them through bloodshot eyes. What the hell was I thinking by blaming these two? I'm so lost and confused… "Clem, what are you talking about? What does Ellie have to do with any of this?"

Realizing that it's now or never, I gulp as the energy just disappears out of my body. I've got no fight left; no beef with these two friends who have only been trying to help me this entire time. I can see that now.

But this is where all of my hope is going to die. There's no backing out of it now – I've dug my way into an early grave. You can pretty much kiss that special, little girl's future goodbye, and the last of my will to keep on fighting as well.

…unless…

"Ellie… she's…" I cut myself off, prepared to give a heartfelt sentiment as I pick myself up and dust myself off, "…it's her mom. I… I never told her this, but I found her mom dead in a fishing store before I saw her and Riley playing by the dumpsters," I weave the lie like a slippery snake, seeing as how this is the only way for me to be sure that her secret is kept completely under wraps. "It's been driving me insane just thinking about it… thinking about how I could ever say something like this to her. I found this note on her mom's body, but I never ended up showing it to her."

Carefully pulling it out of my pocket, I shakily hand the letter over to Jane as she scans it over; Lilly reading over her shoulder as I sadly gaze at the floor. I hate lying to them, but I've come to realize that sometimes lying is necessary in order to protect the ones you truly care about; the ones you love unconditionally.

Only Lilly, Jane and Ellie remain in that exclusive group now. I don't think I can let anybody else into that circle any longer. The more you care, the more you have to lose.

And I will _not _lose anybody else. Not as long as I have any say in the matter.

"Seems pretty legit to me," Jane comments, getting a nod from Lilly as she snatches the letter for herself. Seeing that I'm not going to hurt myself or anyone else, Jane drops her guard as I see her slide her knife back into place. Was she really ready to use that thing on me? "I think you know what you have to do, Clem. The kid deserves to know that much at least. Just sit down with her and explain things."

"…and what if she hates me for it?"

"That's the chance we've all gotta take sometimes," Lilly shrugs, probably knowing what it's like to have to do things that not everyone will be on board with. "It's all a part of growing up. Sometimes we've gotta do hard things for the people you care about – "

"Even if sometimes it means… hurting somebody else…" I recall what Lee once told me as Lilly nods in solemn agreement. "I… I can't do this alone anymore. I've tried but it… it's just not possible to do," I mention as I stare out at the horizon. "The people here don't trust me, my leadership skills are all out of whack, and now… this."

"That's why we're here – to help you every step of the way," Jane inputs as she studies my face for any sort of resistance. When I simply concede and nod my head, Lilly hands me the paper back as Jane decides what we should do. "Maybe we should divvy up the leadership duties for a while – it seems like a lot for one person to take on with how big this group is getting. Maybe all three of us should have a crack at it," she suggests, giving me a small sense of relief. As proud and incredibly mind-blowing as it was to finally start being treated more like an adult and less like a kid, perhaps I overstepped my boundaries a little bit. Maybe I've been growing up too fast, I don't really know.

But this seems like the best possible solution for now. I'm a little worried that the others might see this as some kind of a takeover plot, but the fact of the matter is that I'm not in a position to lead on my own anymore. I'm far too broken, and having all of that pressure to make the right choices has been weighing me down like a ton of bricks.

And clearly, that stress has finally gotten to me.

"We can keep all of this between us for now," Lilly states in a stern fashion, making her opinion known. "But you have to promise us that you'll cooperate, alright? If you need help, you come straight to us. No ifs, ands or buts. Do we have a deal?"

Pausing for just a brief moment, I silently nod my head as Lilly breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Good," she comments simply, giving me one, last worried glance as she turns back to her post. "We'll start tomorrow, then. You check in with one of us, you sit down and talk about what's going on in your life. You're not the only one who needs to vent."

"Lilly!"

Giving me a stern glance like a scolding mother, I bite my tongue before frowning slightly and taking off with Jane not too far behind me.

Fine – if that's what it takes for them to get off my case and keep the truth from spilling out all over the camp, then so be it. Who knows, maybe this'll be a good thing for me? Maybe it'll be a chance to really dig deep and find out what's going on, even though I'm almost certain that neither of them are qualified to do this kind of thing.

But maybe a couple of close friends is really all I need to cure this madness.

As my grip reaches the stair railing and I walk downwards, my mind wanders to Ellie and how that conversation's going to go over. I don't imagine that she's gonna be very happy with the news, nor the fact that I've been keeping this from her for two years now.

But like Jane and Lilly told me, she deserves to know the truth about her parent. Lucky for her that she doesn't actually have to see her mother dead like I had to.

* * *

_**Tommy's POV **_

With my backpack chock-full of supplies, a loaded pistol in my pocket, a hunting rifle strung across my back and a heavy heart pounding in my chest, I glance around at the colourless walls of this dark, dreary place. For some it might seem like a real home, but not for me. This isn't a home for me anymore – it's just four walls and a roof.

There is absolutely nothing comforting or satisfying about being here any longer, so I'm heading out once and for all. No goodbyes or anything – just me and the open road.

"Hold up."

God damn it. I really don't need this right now.

Turning around, I see Lilly of all people perched up on the upper balcony as I sigh and try to figure out what she could want. Isn't she supposed to be on watch right now or something?

"Bo tells me that you're planning on leaving the space centre," she comments dryly, looking rather worn out this afternoon for some reason. "Mind if I ask why?"

"You could, but I probably won't give you the answer you're looking for."

Frowning impatiently, Lilly crosses her legs as they dangle from her spot near the railing. She definitely means business now. "Fine then… can I at least mention that I think this is a stupid idea?"

"You could do that, too. Won't change anything," I shrug, really not feeling like having a discussion on this right now. My mind's been made up, and there's no changing it regardless of what people say.

I'm hitting the old, dusty trail, as the kids say.

"What do you have to gain by going out there?" she probes as I listen half-heartedly. I care about her, truly, but I need to think of the long-term effects of me staying here, and all the negative outcomes that could bring. "You've seen what it's like, Tommy – you've been out there before! It's nothing but a damn wasteland now!"

Holding my hands out to the side, I try to make light of the situation since there's nothing here that's really tying me down. The only fresh face that I may have had any kind of solid friendship with other than Lilly and her little posse would probably be Alden, but it'd probably be for the best if I just left regardless.

"It'll make for a better story then," I hyperbolize with a small, goofy grin. "_Tommy, the Lone Wanderer_ – out in the world with nothing but the clothes on his back, a bag strung over his shoulders and a loaded gun. I think it's make for a pretty catchy read."

"Having some bullshit story told won't matter when you're dead!" she argues in a last-ditch attempt to sway my opinion. "So you're gonna throw your life away here, risk almost certain death out on your own and completely forget about the safest place you'll ever find… and you won't even tell me why?"

Knowing that Bo is no-doubt lurking around nearby, probably listening in on my every word, I clench my fist tightly before shaking my head in exasperation. It's not worth it anymore. Lilly's a pretty capable gal in her own right, and if worst comes to worst I'm sure that she, Jane and Clem would be more than a match for James and Bo. To be honest, a small part of me hopes that those two assholes bite the bullet sooner rather than later, but I keep these thoughts to myself.

For now, I see that I at least owe her a little bit of an explanation as to where I plan on heading towards. If they ever plan on looking me up, then it'd be helpful to get an idea of where to look… well, if I'm actually still there at least.

"I plan on heading out to Jackson County – Wyoming," I clarify, realizing that there may be more than one of those places. "They had it pointed out on one of them maps, and it seems like my best shot. It's got a damn and everything."

"You don't know that for sure. It could be overrun for all you know."

"The place is real, Lilly. I know it is," I insist, feeling a little antsy since nobody's actually questioned my plan up until now. "Do you know how much we could achieve with a _working dam_? A dam means electricity, which means power, which means I could actually start something there. That generator is toast – I checked, and there's no propane left in this one-horse town."

"Your place is _here_, Tommy. Not out in the world where you might get nabbed by a walker or something worse," she continues, showing off her stubborn side as I see just how much she cares. "We need you just as much as you need us."

As hard as she tries, Lilly can't and won't be able to budge me. This won't be so bad – I've dealt with worse things than simply being out alone in the world, and I believe that the trade-off will be completely worth it. I could really turn over a new leaf, start over and really make a difference in the world. I can't be a part of something that just tears lives and families apart. I won't do that anymore.

"Make sure you keep track of who it is you trust around here. Make sure you know just who it is that you're dealing with. And Lilly…" I trail off, looking into her brown orbs once more as I get ready to leave this place for good, "…take care of yourself. I mean it – you keep Jane, Clem and Ellie safe."

"Yeah… you too, I guess…" she murmurs reluctantly as I tear my gaze away from her. Who would've thought that it'd actually be difficult for me to say goodbye to her? I certainly hadn't expected it, and it makes me even less inclined to turn back around and say goodbye to the rest of them. I'm afraid that I'll make a huge mistake if I do.

This is the right choice here, I know it is. Sometimes circumstances don't work out the way you'd planned them to; sometimes shit happens that you can't control. When that happens, you have either two options – either try and fix the issue yourself, or turn and walk away while leaving your troubles in the past. Certain things tend to sort themselves out, and I have no doubt that James and Bo will get what's coming to them in time.

If there is actually a god somewhere watching over all of us, then it just has to happen.

Pulling out my picture of Sarah and Joel one last time, I smile sadly as I feel the open air whip against my face. Y'all would've been proud of old Uncle Tommy, that's for damn sure.

No going back – time to start a new chapter of my life.


	19. Overwhelmed

_AN: Two more shout outs, y'all! Here they come!_

_First one's for The Rose of Hedylogos – if you haven't checked out her fics yet, then you definitely should! She's got an epic one with Nick and Clem and all the rest called "Shadows on the Hill", and you should definitely check out the sequel called "Into the Darkness". Wellington's going downhill fast apparently XD Look them up, they're really awesome reads :D_

_Second's for Petulant Octopus, one of the very faithful reviewers for this story. She's constantly dishing out awesome advice that helps me improve, and her OC Katie is turning out to be one cunning, ruthless badass that we'll be seeing more of soon :D So thank you very much for the support!_

_And also, just wanted to mention that DethMarkDragoon's fic, "Together We Fall", is now up on the site, so please go and check it out when you get the chance! _

_Lastly, this chapter's going to be an OC-heavy one, so hopefully I don't completely butcher this :3 There __**won't be any POVs for this chapter, as I'm doing it in third person for this one.**_

* * *

Standing out in the cold all alone, with none of his other undead chums coming around to play with him, the walker mindlessly stands still on the spot. His arm has gotten caught in the rope that was once a part of his parachute, but the creature is incapable of escaping in this trapped state.

He's alright with that, though. He doesn't mind just chilling near the tree for hours on end, wasting away while other _free _walkers get to roam the countryside on their never-ending quest to snag a meal. This guy's got enough patience to wait until hell freezes over for some kind of sustenance to come traipsing along his way. He's got all the time in the world.

The flies would definitely be a nuisance for the guy if he was actually still alive – their incessant buzzing around his rotting, decaying flesh would be enough to drive anyone off the wall. The walker tried to eat some of the flies earlier just because they were the first things that really moved around, but those little suckers are much too fast for him. Within seconds the flies would bob and weave around his shambling limbs; saving themselves for the brief amount of time that they normally have to live anyways. It'll most likely be less than a week for their actual lifespan.

"Shit… Elliot, we've got another one."

"On it."

Upon hearing and smelling the scent of humans in the area, the dead man snaps his jaws hungrily and waves out his free arm in the hopes of grabbing a quick meal. Boy, would he ever like the taste of fresh meat today! It's been far too long!

The only problem? His so-called "free hand" is actually just a severed limb; cut off when his parachute got caught in the tree and he snapped the limb off before getting hung by his own strings. An unintentional suicide if there ever was one.

As Elliot draws near with a large stick in hand, the walker's growls get louder as his hungry eyes glaze over his prey. It could be so easy if the guy just stepped a little bit closer towards the walker's mouth, but there's no dice for him today. Swinging the branch like a baseball bat, Elliot knocks it out of the park as the stick bashes straight across the walker's face; sending chunks of blood and flesh to fling off in a disgusting manner. As Emily cringes and holds an arm over her nose to drive out the stench, Elliot smacks the beast around twice more until it finally lies dead. Its arm is still attached to the tree as Elliot lightly breaks its wrist.

"It's done," he remarks quietly while tossing the branch to the forest floor. "Should we check to make sure – "

"Of course we have to, Elliot. No need to ask," Emily interrupts as the man holds his hands up in defense. Looking as though she's going to be sick to her stomach, Emily reaches down into the walker's pant pockets, gagging as her fingers trace over some dried blood and guts through the fabric. Seven years of this hell and she still can't ever get used to that. "Ugh… god… The sooner we get out of here, the better," she remarks, wiping her hand on her jeans when she comes up empty-handed. "Have Josh and the girl moved yet?"

"Lets' find out," he suggests, flicking the radio to life and hearing a few crackling sounds through the speaker. "Racheal? You there? What's the status on our runaways, over?"

Waiting patiently for a few seconds, Elliot's stomach growls as he holds onto his gut with discomfort. The snacks they had brought along didn't last nearly as long as they thought they would, mostly due to the fact that they've been travelling for two days straight now. None of them really figured that the chase would lead them all the way up to the southern end of Missouri.

Of course, nobody really seemed to believe that Joshua would last this long with the blood loss, either. That woman that he's with works wonders, unfortunately.

"We're gonna find some food soon enough. Don't worry – Katie and Kelly won't let us down," Emily encourages, although she herself is starving too. What she wouldn't give for even the bottom of a can of peaches right now…

Sprung out of their thoughts, the two of them hear Racheal's tired voice on the other end of the line.

"_Yeah… bastard's still here. Still can't believe he hasn't seen us yet," _she admits, as their hunting party is fairly large and trying to sneak their way just up behind the pair has proven to be rather difficult. More than once, Josh and his companion have taken off like scared deer because of accidental noises coming from the bushes. Thankfully Josh is injured, so he can't exactly act like he normally would and just shoot anything on sight.

"Alright, let's make sure it stays that way," Elliot points out. "We'll come to you – don't let them out of your sight. We're on our way."

"_If you didn't think I could handle it, then why did you hand this job off to – "_

Turning the radio off before Racheal can finish her question, Elliot smirks a little as Emily chuckles at the childish antics he's portraying. For as long as she's known him, Elliot has never really responded too well to authority, or even others telling him what he can and cannot do. He used to compete with Racheal all the time over pretty much everything he could think of, but a little bit of resentment managed to take place when it seemed that she was always getting ahead, and always seemed to have the support of everyone in the group.

The tables must've turned then, once Clementine and the rest entered the picture. Although she never was the leader beforehand, Racheal had a sort of wise, elder-like influence among the group. There were never more than ten in their group at a time, but usually she was the one they'd go to for tactical advice. Elliot always thought that he could do a much better job, but did they listen? Did anyone _ever _listen to a damn thing that he said back there?!

No, not as far as he's concerned. And now he's out here in the sticks, chasing after some fucker who in his opinion should've been put down ages ago. The only thing that he's actually truly proud of in this hell of an existence anymore is his position in the armory – that's one thing that nobody can take away from him.

"Come on then, we'd better hurry," Emily ushers him onwards, patting him on the back as they leave the downed walker behind. "Or else we'll never hear the end of it. You know how annoyed they can get if we take too long."

"Wouldn't want them to be annoyed…"

* * *

The whirring sound above their heads has actually come to be pretty soothing for the three of them, up in an aircraft where the walkers wouldn't be able to get you. It almost makes them feel invincible; so well-protected that they could practically feel like gods. Their bird's-eye view of everything and everyone down below is just a sweet added bonus to the big number of perks being in this helicopter.

Ahh, now this is living…

Feeling a little bit of turbulence, Luna manages to stabilize the trio as Jake and Scott nervously hang onto the side doors. That might be one of the few minor gripes about travelling in such luxurious conditions – if something goes wrong, they're kind of screwed either way. Unfortunately, they've never been able to find parachutes to save them from falling to the earth like a pancake.

"Please tell me that we're almost there?" Scott remarks in a pleading tone, staring out the window with a concerned expression. "We've gotta be running low on gas now, right? Maybe we should just land on a building or something so that we can all have a bit of a breather…"

"Beam me down there then, Scotty!" Luna chuckles; her wisecrack about the Star Trek franchise not doing anything to brighten the guy's mood. "You know, I never really understood you. All this time up in the air, and yet you're still telling me that you're afraid of heights?"

"I'm not afraid of _heights_. I'm afraid of you losing control and crashing us straight into the asphalt!"

Glancing back to Jake for a brief moment, Luna mouths "heights" with a snigger while trying to keep the three survivors aloft.

Although their main objective was simply to scout out the surrounding eastern states by air, Jake, Luna and Scott all agreed on one thing – just because they're a part of this group, doesn't mean that they can't make their own decisions from time to time. Sure they went east… east out to Georgia, anyways. It still counts as scouting, but they're mainly here because of a rumour that was going around. Apparently, the city of Atlanta has some of the best aircraft parts around thanks to shipments that used to come in from some base called… Warner Robbins, they think. Whatever it was, it certainly piqued the interest of Jake and Scott, since where military aircraft equipment can be found, that usually also means military weapons, too.

And Luna? She's just happy to come along for the ride, as well as hitting up the run-down beer stores for any alcohol that they might still possess. Hey, someone should be allowed to have a little fun once in a while!

"What do you think they'll say when we come back with all this shit?" Jake asks, feeling excruciatingly bored ever since they passed over the Georgia state line a while back. "The group might not be too thrilled about us being gone for so long… What do we do if they ask where we've been?"

Huffing out a sigh, Luna shrugs her shoulders with indifference; a trait that Scott's noticed a lot over the past few weeks. Unless it's about flying, pranks or fueling her alcoholic addiction, Luna just doesn't seem to give a damn about anything anymore. The effects have somehow even transcribed over to her two companions in certain ways, as sometimes the both of them just don't feel like even getting up in the morning to do the same shit over and over again.

But Scott's never been one to want to venture down that dark path, and Jake's got a set of morals to match his sometimes unruly temper, so it typically all balances itself out.

"Who cares what they say? We'll just make up some bullshit excuse like we got cornered by a pack of walkers or something," she suggests, lowering the bird a little bit as the cloud cover gets more intense. "What, suddenly you're both afraid of a little curfew? Rules were made to be broken, gents! Feel the rush of it!"

"Rules are there for a _reason_, Luna! We just got here," Jake points out, glancing over at the tall buildings dotted throughout the city of Atlanta, "and I don't feel like getting booted out so soon. We've got something going, let's not spoil it…"

"Fine… just trying to spice things up a little bit. You two have got sticks so far up your asses…" she comments dryly, tapping the gas meter as she chuckles slightly. "Looks like we might be walking at this rate, boys! See anywhere for us to land? We've got more fuel tanks behind your seat there, Scotty."

Turning his head, sure enough the guy spots two semi-filled canisters of that magical liquid that's gotten them from point A to B more times than any of them can count. Diesel might not smell like roses once you pour the stuff in, but as long as it helps get them somewhere then Scott doesn't really mind too much.

"There," Jake points as Luna pokes her head to the side, "that's where we'll land. See it? There's a little park across the street down there. Scott, get your pistol ready just in case."

"You got it."

With as much precision as she can muster (which isn't a whole lot, all things considered), Luna delicately tries to land the helicopter on a field of lush, green grass that's clearly been growing consistently ever since humans basically disappeared. That's the one thing about the apocalypse – it takes a near-extinction event for the Earth to finally start the rebuilding process. Kind of a scary thing to think about, but Jake's not deterred as he steps onto the ground; his shaggy hair rustling in the wind as he takes down a walker that was hanging over by the slide.

This park looks like it hasn't even been touched for years, which is more than likely the case with Atlanta being overrun and everything before. It's eerie to come here for the three survivors, though, as the swing set slowly moves back and forth in the wind. Somewhere not too far, you can still hear a set of chimes that lets out a harmonious sound, but that only furthers the creepy emptiness of the place.

As the helicopter blades finally die down, Luna pops open the gas valve and gets set to work, mentioning how Scott and Jake should scavenge what they can while they wait. Neither of the guys think that they're gonna find much in the way of supplies out in a place like this, but agree to the suggestion nonetheless. You never know what people might skip over.

"That dead guy have anything good on him?" Scott asks, stealing a brief look over at Jake as he rolls the body onto its back. When Jake huffs out a frustrated sigh and shakes his head, Scott decides to give the teeter-totter a once-over. There's something odd about it though…

Noticing this, Jake frowns in confusion as he slowly follows in behind. "Scott, we're not out here to monkey around! We're looking for _supplies_, remember?"

Ignoring him, Scott squints his eyes as he spots the plaything in the distance. _Fucking short sighted…_ he thinks to himself in frustrating, reminded that his glasses snapped in half last year. It's not as if the guy's as blind as a bat at long distances, but it's significantly more difficult without those lenses supporting him.

Finally getting up close to the see-saw, he bends down to look underneath one of the sides of it, and sure enough there's something pretty damn useful planted into the ground underneath.

Or at least, he _thinks _it could be useful. Scott's not entirely sure.

"The hell is this thing?" he questions, yanking the object out with a bit of force as if it's the sword Excalibur. It's some sort of yellow hook thing, unlike anything the boy's seen before, and he lightly brushes his hand over the sharp part at the top of it. Dried blood has been practically encrusted onto the metal as it's started to rust slightly – probably from one too many nights left out in the rain.

Swinging it around once or twice, Scott nods in satisfaction as he shows off the prize to Jake.

"It's almost like a mix of an ice pick and a pickaxe, ain't it?" Jake remarks, widening his eyes as he appears impressed with the nice find. "Who would just leave something like this out underneath a fucking teeter-totter? Seems like a pretty shitty spot to… oh."

Pointing over to a park bench, the two of them hustle on over towards it as they glance behind an overfilled trash bin, where sure enough, a tuft of blonde hair reveals the body of a woman lying dead nearby. Her skin has already started rotting away, and upon closer inspection there are several bite marks all along her left arm and one by her neck.

A bullet wound through her right temple reveals that she had no choice but to end it herself, as Jake carefully takes the gun out of her rotted hand.

"I wonder if she was alone when this happened…" Scott mentions as she looks over the body once more. "Damn… the corpse looks pretty fresh to me – I'd reckon only a week or so at the most."

"How can you tell something like that?"

Pointing out some of the signs, Scott goes into researcher mode as he describes his findings. "The hair still hasn't fallen out just yet so right off the bat you can already tell," he remarks with a shrug. "Her skin hasn't completely deteriorated yet, and…" he trails off, looking rather grossed out as he opens the woman's eyelids up a tad, "those haven't decayed yet. See? Fresh corpse."

"…remind me to bring you in as a detective next time," Jake compliments as Luna hollers for them to return. "Take that hook with you – I don't think she'll be needing it anymore."

Clenching his hand tightly around the grip, Scott promises to take good care of the thing as he steps up and returns to the helicopter with his fellow comrades. The blonde-haired, brown-eyed badass remains as dead as a doorknob, with none of them aware of what her true identity was once upon a time.

Leaving the park behind, the trio soar higher into the sky as they begin their search once again.

* * *

"_Alright, up and at 'em. Come on, Josh, get off your ass and move!" _Fiona ushers, getting a cold, menacing stare from the guy as she rolls her eyes. _"Don't start bitching at me, alright? The sooner we move, the sooner we can get back to the base and get you patched up. Ranger's Grove is only a few miles away now…"_

Not budging right away, Joshua looks at the ground in frustration, not used to being the person who's incapable of defending himself or doing anything productive in general. The bullets may not have incapacitated him as much as he had believed, but without a few days of rest at least, the guy's still basically a walking corpse.

Of course though, in typical fashion, he won't ever admit that.

"_I don't take orders from you, bitch! You're the newbie around here, so don't you try and – "_

Smacking him roughly across the face, Fiona towers over him as he sits on the log; flabbergasted that she'd have the audacity to do such a thing. _"You call me that again, and the gun's next. Leave your fucking sexist comments to yourself, alright? Honestly, you're this close from me just leaving your sorry ass behind."_

Watching this all go down from behind a tree a good distance away, Racheal whistles quietly in astonishment. Even though they're both technically the enemy, she can't help but root for this Fiona girl a little bit. She's got no idea how awesome it feels for somebody to finally start putting this rabid dog back in its place – he should've gotten the message by now.

_You go, girl, _she internally says with a smug look on her face, although that look turns more serious when Fiona actually does manage to start getting the asshole up and moving. "Kelly? Katie?" she calls out through the radio, noting how everyone else is already back. "Wrap it up with the hunting – the assholes are starting to move again."

Hearing a sigh on the other end of the line and taking that as acceptance from Katie, Racheal places her walkie-talkie back into her pocket as she scurries down the hill to join the rest of the exhausted group members. Kazuki's got her head leaned up against Alden's shoulder while trying to doze off, and the guy seems like he's too drained to even care.

Noticing her return, Emily wanders on over to Racheal as she hands her one of the spare guns.

"Are we all set? Katie and Kelly should be back any minute now – look alive, will you?" Racheal comments, nudging Alden with her foot as he groans in exhaustion. "You sound like fucking Chewbacca right now – on your feet, both of you. They're mentioned heading back to Ranger's Grove, so it shouldn't be much farther now. We can just check the map and finally be done with this whole thing."

"Well if you already know where they are, then can't you just wait a little while? It's not like they're going anywhere…" Alden comments sleepily, getting pissed as Racheal incessantly nudges him in the side. "Jesus Christ, Racheal! Knock it off already! We've been at this for two days with almost no rest! Just give us a fucking break!"

Glaring sharply at the man, but also realizing that this is probably just the exhaustion talking, Racheal shakes her head as she spots Kelly and Katie slowly walking towards them; a fresh kill in hand as Katie holds up a weasel by its hind legs.

"If you wanna stick around here and get eaten by a pack of walkers, be my guest," Racheal remarks indifferently, causing Alden to glare at the ground. "But the rest of us are moving on – we can rest when we're dead. Until then, we're moving in on these assholes and seeing what's up."

"Since when were you one to follow the little pipsqueak's orders?" Katie questions, doubtful over whether or not she was being truthful with their conversation a while back. "I would've figured this would be the shit you'd _never _want to do. This is a class A example!"

Confused, Emily looks between the two women sharply as she begins to suspect that something's going on here. She really likes to be in the loop on matters that occur within the Fireflies, and when it involves some of her closer friends, it's just that much more important to her.

"What do you mean by that?" she asks Katie, but Racheal clears her throat loudly as she cuts the woman off. "Racheal, what the hell are you two talking about? What's going on?"

"It's nothing," Racheal insists, casting Katie a sharp glare as she points out over the hill. "Look, the longer we stand here talking, the more dangerous it gets out here. So just drop it and let's get going."

Wanting to turn around and head out, Racheal is stopped in her tracks as Emily snatches her wrist and pretty much glues her on the spot. No matter how much she tries, she can't move out of Emily's firm grip, which annoys the hell out of her.

"You're not leaving until I get some answers – _nobody _is," she remarks pointedly as Kelly and Katie stop in their tracks.

Seeing no other options than to tell her friend at least a little bit of the truth, Racheal sighs deeply before conceding; rubbing her wrist tenderly as she's released. "Remember what Jane told us? Before we left?" she questions the group members, who slowly nod as they try and figure out what this has to do with anything. "_Clementine is in a dark, depressing place, and we need to help bring her out of it_ – those were her exact words. You do realize the kid's losing it, don't you? Obviously the stress is getting too much for her to handle, and her two little chums are there pretending to be for moral support because they feel bad for her!"

Kazuki, after being aroused from her slumber from all the commotion, groggily shakes her head to defend her friend.

"That's not true! Clem's just had to make some tough choices that nobody else could make! Don't complain about her because you couldn't make nearly the same decisions!" she argues, trying to stand up for the fifteen year old on Clementine's behalf. However, with a swift glare shot out from Racheal, she gulps and stands down a little bit. Kaz feels pretty strongly about her older pal, mostly because she was the one who took her in after it seemed that nobody else really wanted to. She feels that she kind of owes Clem in a sense, but deep down Kazuki knows that that's something she won't be able to repay.

The defensive remarks while she's away will have to do for now.

"Do you honestly believe that she could run this group without our help? We're their _lifeline!_" Katie steps in, pointing at the ground for added effect. "We're the backbone of this group right here – if we weren't busting our keesters off, kicking ass and taking names all day long, then the Fireflies wouldn't even exist! They'd be fucked!"

"They need us, not the other way around," Racheal adds in with determination, her intentions still rather unclear to the vast majority of the people who've gathered around. "Clem's still a kid, whether she chooses to believe it or not. If she can't handle the heat, then it's up to us to see things through and get shit done. Why should we have to answer to them? To the inner council? Why can't we just govern ourselves?"

"…because they took us in."

Turning their heads in surprise, everyone glances over as Elliot of all people is the one to speak up about this. Nobody expected him to have an input, as everyone always just assumed that he wasn't a big fan of Clem, Jane or Lilly. His actions when they first met certainly made Emily feel that way.

But what they don't realize is that, in truth, he's developed quite a bit of respect for the teen.

"They put a roof over our heads; took us in when they could've just left," he lists off, pulling his hood over his head to keep his ears from getting cold. The wind's picking up pretty strongly today. "I get what you guys are saying, but the fact of the matter is that we're all on the same side. They've said that they only want what's best for the group, and if getting this punk out of the way is how we're gonna do it, then I'm on board. Clementine and the rest haven't wronged us yet, so why start plotting behind their backs now?"

Holding her hands out in defense, Racheal tries to make herself clear before people start insinuating things. "We're not plotting anything, alright? We just have to question sometimes when – "

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Elliot shakes his head, not wanting to hear anymore. "Until they start becoming an actual threat to us and screw us all up, we need to act like a team and do what we were meant to do. Have you already forgotten what this means?" he ponders, holding up his metallic Firefly pendant as everyone instantaneously fiddle around with theirs without even thinking about it. "We can't live like barbarians anymore! If nobody else is gonna even try, then it's up to us to set things right! We can actually start something with these people; not just try to get rid of the authority and make off like bandits! We start turning on each other, and we're no better than anyone else out there…"

Falling silent as they see that none of the other group members are too thrilled about their ideas, Racheal places her hands in her pockets as she concedes defeat – temporarily, at least. She knows that she's not always right about everything, but this is one of the few times that she's unwilling to accept that she's wrong. Racheal could see it in the kid's eyes when they first met – Clementine is not to be taken lightly, and she's more than likely the most dangerous person within the Fireflies.

Or at least she will be, once she gets a little older and more skilled with a variety of weapons.

It isn't just the gun training that has her concerned, however. It's also a combination of the power she holds, the way that she carries herself mechanically through almost every stressful situation, and how neutral she can be at times when emotions are running high. Sure, the kid has her faults like everyone else, and occasionally Racheal will catch a brief glimpse of her letting her guard down when she thinks nobody else is looking… but she's come to realize a rather disturbing, more sinister fact about the fifteen year old leader.

It doesn't just startle Racheal with the way that she can manage through the apocalypse. It fucking _terrifies_ her. The girl's basically grown up in this hell, and has basically lost all notion of what a normal, non-apocalyptic society really was even like. Kazuki has as well in a way, but hers is more subdued. Clem's taken on an entirely new identity, and it's not exactly one that Racheal feels really comfortable with.

Knowing that she'll be overstepping her boundaries if she speaks of this any further, Racheal follows the rest of the group down the hill as a slight overcast hangs above them. It's likely going to rain soon, so whatever they're going to do better be quick.

"One day," Katie whispers to her, seemingly coming out of nowhere, "they'll see things our way. When their world comes crashing down around them, and the head honchos fall apart, they'll all open their eyes to see the bigger picture. And on that day…"

"We'll be ready," Racheal finishes, concerned not only for herself, but the group as a whole with the direction that they're heading towards.

Because sooner or later, somebody's gonna end up dead.

* * *

"Shit, where'd he go?!" Kelly whispers urgently, hiding behind an abandoned brick, suburban home with Alden and Kazuki as they try to figure out where their little rabbit named Joshua had just scurried off to. "Great, came all this way just to lose sight of the bastard… Anyone see him out there?"

Furrowing his brow, Alden sprints over behind a broken-down car as he looks out through both of the windows with a pistol in his grasp. They're definitely out of the woods, but unfortunately they've dived right into the frying pan. This whole place is Ranger's Grove apparently, though the three of them have yet to see many guards. A couple of passersby just chatting away, but no whole platoons yet.

"Can't see anything from back here," he admits with a scowl, banging his fist lightly against his thigh. "We need to get a closer look. Kaz, can you radio Emily and tell them to meet us over by that soccer field? It's a few blocks down," he points to the left a little bit as the girl nods. Shouldn't be too difficult for the rest of the group to spot from… wherever it is they split off to.

Listening for the beep on the older model-device, Kazuki clears her throat as she tries to explain things in simple terms. "Umm… Emily? Are you there? We're meeting over by the soccer field a little ways ahead. Are you guys okay?"

Not hearing anything for a moment, Kazuki waits patiently but moves up along with her friends as they book it over to the next house. The neighbourhood would've been basically deserted if Joshua's group hadn't come along, but something's weird in the girl's mind. Out of the few ones that they've seen, only Joshua is the one that she really recognized – nobody else in the camp so far. You'd think after being with them for so long that she'd at least remember _somebody_, but all of these guys are total strangers.

"…_bzzt… H-hello? Kelly is that… bzzt… you…?"_

Handing the radio back to the medical assistant, all three of the survivors recognize the voice, but nobody understands how that would even be possible at this point.

"James?" Kelly remarks questioningly. "Is that you? How are you able to reach us from here? We're all the way in Missouri!"

"_I'm using a machine…. Bzzt… in the Space Centre. Transmits signals from far away," _he explains as the response becomes clearer. The telephone wires must've still caused some interference even though they're not in use anymore. _"But that's not important. Where did you say you were? Missouri? You chased him all the way there?"_

"To Ranger's Grove, yeah," she replies, but almost dropping the radio on the pavement as they come to the street across from the soccer fields. The shock of what they're seeing right now is almost too much for them to believe. "Oh my god…"

"_What? Kelly, you still there? What is it? What's going on?!"_

It's an entire colony that's been established here, though from the looks of it, things must've gotten heated between the different groups at one point. There are dead bodies just rotting in the fields surrounding them, but the masses of survivors don't really seem to pay them much mind. There's got to be over one hundred of these guys as far as any of them can tell, all armed and dangerous as they go about their business. There are fires still burning some of the tents to the ground as huge columns of smoke waft up into the air and are carried off by the wind, while some people hang by their necks on the huge, cement light poles. Some of them are simply tied up and beaten senselessly by their amused captors, but most are just conversing with one another as if nothing's happening.

At the center of it all stands Tracy, watching over all the camp as she stands up on a podium. The thing was more than likely just sitting there before, since nobody leaves a big-ass podium thing in the middle of the soccer fields for no reason. Perhaps it was a tournament or something – Kelly, Alden and Kaz aren't very sure.

What they do know, is that clearly Tracy's somehow assembled together a mosh pit of survivors, whether by their own choice or not.

Picking the radio up again and bringing it to her mouth, Kelly finds the strength to speak again as she clicks on the button.

"You might wanna send Jane, Lilly and the rest down here… take the truck, you'll get here faster…" she remarks, wondering how this could possibly get any worse. "I think… I think we might be fucked…"


	20. Squalor

_AN: As per usual, more shout outs!_

_This one's for Oreo Anarchy – she made the awesome, awesome, AWESOME cover art for this story and You're the Salvation, and I've been gushing over them ever since haha! It's just such a cool feeling to know that people are as into this story as much as I am! And besides her artistic talent, you should definitely go check out her story, "There's Still Hope". It's very well-written and has an older, more interesting cast this time around, so go check it out! Do it nooooowwwww!_

_And this is for Aqua Destiny's Embrace! I personally want to thank you for two very awesome OCs, even though most of us want to tear Joshua apart at this point XD She's got a ton of fics on her profile, and her most popular one is likely "Bad Things Will Always Happen", which I think left off with the group split up but heading towards Wellington – correct me if I'm wrong :3 But yeah, she's quite good at handling the OCs, so definitely give that story a whirl!_

* * *

_**Jane's POV **_

"…oh shit," I remark sorrowfully as I gaze at the scene. It's definitely not looking too good over there, but it's still the right thing for her to do, isn't it? "Lilly, check it out. Should we… you know, intervene?"

Sitting over by a fallen log is Clementine and a very saddened Ellie, no doubt having just been told about her deceased parent. God, that must feel like shit at her tender age… I can't even imagine what she must be going through right now. Does she feel the same way that I did when I had lost Jaime so long ago? No, I doubt that it's the same kind of loss. Even though it was an incredibly difficult pill for me to swallow, and it took me quite a long time to even consider letting people in again, at least I actually _knew _that Jaime was dead. To have it just told to you like that without any real rhyme or reason would be terribly traumatic.

Putting her hands in her pockets and sighing as she leans up against the front door of the pickup truck, Lilly shrugs her shoulders as we stand and wait out in the middle of nowhere. It's been a day since James relayed the emergency message to us from the rest of our group; a day of being on the road and trying to get to wherever they are right now. James said Ranger's Grove, but their communication has gone quiet ever since he talked to them. From what Kelly was describing, however, it sounds as though they weren't yet in any immediate danger, so take that for what you will.

"It'd probably be a good idea for Clem to handle this one on her own," Lilly suggests, reluctantly so. For some reason it almost feels as though we're abandoning Clem to deal with this fragile issue herself, even though they're only like thirty feet away from us.

"You're probably right," I concur after some consideration, "she'd probably try to shoo us away if we started walking anyways. But we've gotta get back on the road soon," I remind her, feeling torn about the whole situation. We don't want to be stuck out here once nightfall hits.

Thankfully (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), Ellie seems ready to wrap this up; swatting Clem's hand away as she sprints over to the truck and buries herself underneath a tarp in the back cab of the vehicle. You can hear the whimpers and sobs of the kid as the tarp shakes every time she breathes.

Concernedly glancing over to my partner, I point to Ellie and then to Clementine; silently asking which one of the two she'd want to try talking to. And of course, going for the more familiar person, Lilly rubs a hand through her hair as she slowly walks over to the depressed fifteen year old, who's looking as though she's the worst person in existence. It had to be done, Clem – better now than way later down the road when she starts asking even more questions.

But this is gonna be the tough part – sure, maybe I was able to talk to Clem with few problems when she was eleven, but Ellie is hardly the same case. The girl's eight years old and has just found out about losing her mom. How am I supposed to handle something like this?

Figuring that it's now or never, I lower the tailgate as I climb into the hatchback with a heavy heart. This should be fun…

"Ellie?" I call out, trying to be as nice as I can without just barfing out rainbows. In case you haven't noticed, comforting people isn't my strongest suit. "Do you, uh… want to talk? Because I can't exactly leave you back here when we drive away. You'd probably go flying out onto the road."

When she just tugs the tarp closer to her body and practically barricades herself in the corner, I bite my lip and sit next to her. Unbeknownst to anyone else, I used to do a similar thing at her age whenever I felt like shit. I'd sprint up to my bedroom, put a chair in front of the door and hide under my covers – somehow Jaime was always able to sneak in somehow and climb into the bed with me, but I never asked her how she was able to do that.

Usually it was whenever I got grounded – which was a _lot_, now that I think about it – but occasionally it was just that I… I felt pretty lonely back then. Growing up, I didn't have a whole lot of friends, probably 'cause I was a little shithead to people sometimes, but it still hurt. Getting called a boy when I had my hair cut short, getting called a freak because I didn't like to play the same games that the other kids wanted to do…

_Sigh_… I suppose none of that really matters now though, does it? The bullies are gone for good, and here I am – trying to comfort some kid that I never would've had the dead never risen.

"…so, I'm guessing that Clem told you…?"

"M-mommy…" she snivels, only crying harder after she says this. Damn, she's taking this really hard.

Bringing my knees up to my chest as Clem and Lilly start walking back towards us, I slowly and carefully lift the tarp off of her red hair, thankfully having no interference this time. Whether it's just that Ellie's too tired to fight back I'm not too sure, but the usual spark in her eyes is totally gone right now.

"I know this can't be easy for you," I try to console, feeling really awkward doing so as I look down at her small frame, "but… you can get through this, Ellie. You… you're a tough, little devil, and this is something you're going to get past. You're one of us now, remember? And we need you to stick around to make this all work out. Just… come into the truck with us? Please?"

With Clementine looking down steadily and Lilly sitting in the driver's seat and turning on the ignition, Ellie tearfully looks up at me as I pull off a sympathetic half-smile. That's really the best I can offer; that any of us really can. None of us have ever been parents before, let alone being any good at this kind of grievance counselling.

She's never going to fully recover from this sort of heartbreak, as nobody ever truly does – it rips out a piece of your soul and replaces it with a tendril of darkness. However, the pain does dull over time, and eventually you just learn to live with it even though you're constantly reminded of that one piece you're missing. It's how we can cope and overcome this misery that really tests our limits.

Hmph… look at me, eh? Acting like some sort of philosophical mastermind over here! Now why can't that translate out into actual verbal words for me? That'd probably make things a thousand times easier…

Sniffling a few times more, Ellie sadly nods in acceptance as Clementine picks her up from the side of the truck and places her back on the ground; opening the door for her as the eight year old (or is it nine, now? I can't remember) kid steps inside.

"Jane…" Clem murmurs to me, looking rather broken up about it herself, "…thank you."

"Don't mention it," I pat her on the shoulder, letting out a shaky breath as I climb out myself and slam the hatch shut. "This was the right choice, you'll see. You did the best you could with a shitty situation. Nobody can ask for more than that."

Sinking into her seat as she tiredly rubs her eyes, deep down I wonder what it is exactly that Clem's actually going through as well. She and Ellie are practically glued to the hip these days, and she always seems to get anxious whenever somebody tries to separate the two of them. Secretly I worry that this might further divide the two girls, but we'll just have to wait and find out. Hopefully it won't, but sometimes these things happen. Right now, Ellie probably just needs her space.

"Let's just find this stupid place," I sigh as I roll out my shoulders a little bit.

The truck is basically silent as Lilly backs it up back onto the road, with none of us realizing that we've made a wrong turn going down the highway.

* * *

_Tap… tap…. Tap-tap… tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-splash!_

With no access to any kind of weather channel or any kind of forecast, neither Lilly nor I would've guessed that practically a monsoon would be starting to pour down onto us. At least we're nice and dry in the truck, but the constant pitter-patter of water droplets smacking against the windshield not only makes it harder for Lilly to see the road in front of her, but it's disturbing Ellie in the back seat.

Not Clementine though, apparently. Somehow it's actually soothing for her, since the girl has practically dozed off for the last two hours or so of the trip up here. I guess it'd be pretty easy for her to sleep through anything now, having to do so in some of the worst conditions imaginable. With no immediate danger at hand, she could probably sleep through anything at all.

Flicking the headlights on for her, I fiddle around with the various dials near the dashboard as Lilly silently keeps her foot on the gas pedal. We've had to slow down considerably due to the inclement weather, but we should still be making good time.

I just wonder if the rest of them have holed out alright, or if they're even still alive at all.

"You're sure we're going the right way?" Lilly questions, her eyes narrowed as the wipers constantly swish back and forth. Why she's asking me this now of all times is actually pretty ridiculous if you think about it, considering how far we've travelled.

So, in typical fashion, I give her one of my infamous snarky responses that I haven't really needed to use since… since before we got together, actually.

"Have a little faith, Lils," I sigh, rolling down the window and getting one of the windshield wipers un-stuck. "We're definitely on the right track. Watch, soon afterwards you'll be able to kick back and relax on a nice, sandy beach… I definitely could go for something like that."

"Then maybe we should've just kept going to California back then – you'd have the whole Pacific Ocean to look at," Lilly mentions, though I sincerely doubt that a state with a population as large as that would have too many beach-bums left who weren't already dead. I'd imagine that LA was one of the first places to fall.

It's weird sometimes, you know – not knowing what's going on in the rest of the world. Back then you'd almost always hear some story on the news about a war-torn country, some big epidemic that would get loads of people sick, some so-called "terrorist plot" that would almost always just be a false alarm. But aside from the awful, messed-up stuff that happened to people back then, it kind of pales in comparison to all of this. Bad things happen out here on a daily basis nowadays.

It's kind of funny, now that I think about it. How _scared _we all were; how we would all head out for the day and lock our doors tightly shut at night, always thinking in the back of your mind that somebody was going to try and break into your house with a gun.

What the fuck were we all thinking back then, huh? We should've… we should've cherished the days more, and not have been so caught up in our own fears and worries about the future that we were scared of even going outside. That shit's for _today_, not back when people were still the dominant force in the world.

"…so what do you think, Jane?"

"Huh? What?" I stumble like a fool, probably looking like a confused puppy when they turn their heads to the side.

Visibly annoyed that I wasn't paying attention to her, Lilly rolls her eyes and ignores me as I poke and prod. Oh sure, now who's being the childish one!

"Come on, don't be like that! Lilly!" I chastise, now having this insatiable desire to know what it is that she was talking about before. Funny how that works out, isn't it?

"Don't bother me when I'm trying to drive," she brushes off coolly, but starting to lose her temper as I start incessantly poking her in the shoulder. Clementine watches the exchange with a sliver of amusement as she looks between the two of us. "Damn it, Jane! I'm trying not to crash us into a tree right now! It's not as if you're ever paying attention anyways!"

I'm about to make a retort and question why she's being so moody today, seeing's how I'm usually off in la-la-land all the time anyways, but I widen my eyes as a man with a cumbersome backpack on his shoulders waves his arms around in a panic; urging us to stop as he comes out into the middle of the road like an idiot.

Seeing's how we're not really slowing down, he tries to dodge but ends up getting clipped by the side of the truck and falling onto his back into the mud. Pumping the brakes at least five times, Lilly nearly has a heart attack as we just barely manage to stop before hitting a tree. Nobody moves for a moment as the thunder cracks in the distance and a lightning strike comes soon after.

Turning my body halfway in my seat, I cup a hand over my eyes as I try peering out the window; just barely managing to spot him haphazardly sprawled in the dirt. Did we kill him?

…well, whatever the case may be, somebody's gotta go check on the guy, and it looks like that somebody is going to be me.

Before I can unlock the door, however, Lilly snatches my wrist and tries to pin me down.

Opening my mouth to speak, Lilly beats me to the punch as she sternly shakes her head. "Don't even think about going out there," she reprimands; her grip firm as she tightly wraps her bony fingers around my wrist. Damn it, how is she so fucking strong?! "Jane, just leave it! We can't go out trying to help every single person we come across, and that might've just been a walker for all we know! I'm sorry, but that's the truth."

"Are you fucking kidding?! Lilly, we _ran him over_! With a truck!"

"He was prancing around like a maniac! It was his own damn fault in the first place, and it was too dark to see anyways!" she defends herself, trying to get me to see things from her point of view. And yeah sure, I get why she'd be concerned, but we can't just leave a stranger out in the middle of the woods to die without even checking to make sure if he's alive or not.

Managing to break free, I open the door and step out into the rain before she can try to pin me again.

"I can make my own decisions here," I tell her with a small, disappointed frown. "You're not in charge of my life."

Shutting the door closed without another word, I don't bother shielding my head from the intense rain as it soaks me to the skin. In fact, I relish just being able to stand out here and expose myself to all this free water that I'm able to collect; opening my mouth for a moment and brushing my hair back as it retains a spikier look.

…don't you dare say that I've gained back a butch haircut, or I'll knife you right in the jugular, understand?

"Unnggghhh…. Holy shit that hurts… Owww…" the guy whines, proving that he's not in fact dead as I get a better look at him. He's an African-American man with cornrows going down to his shoulders (how he found the time to do that I have no idea), has a small scar on his cheek and has an old pair of sunglasses that have been knocked to the side from the impact of the truck. The guy's pretty muscular, but god damn is he short! Give it a couple of years and I think even clementine will have caught up to him. "You know… as much as appreciate the staring from a pretty girl like you… would you mind just helping me up?"

Folding my arms together, I raise an eyebrow in questioning as I refuse to grasp onto his outstretched hand. Nope, not happening just yet – not until I know for sure that he's not a threat.

Seeing how I'm refusing to cooperate, the man _tsks _as he shakes his head in disbelief. "Geez, you sure know how to play hard to get, don't you?" he jokes with a lame attempt to try and swoon me – clearly the guy's a hopeless romantic, and I can pretty much tell right off the bat how many _actually intelligent _girls would've chosen to go out with him.

I'll give you a hint: it's the number that comes before one.

"Who are you? What are you doing out here?" I ask him the usual questions, probing him for answers as Lilly and Clem slowly walk up behind me with their guns at their sides. Our little red-headed friend sits in the back seat of the truck, half-dozing off as I see her head bob up and down.

Eyeing their guns with a wary look on his face, the man gulps before trying to calmly explain himself – unfortunately not misplacing all the joking bullshit that just seems to come naturally to him. "My name's Marcus," he tells us, not really having any reason to lie right now, "Marcus Thompson – and you want a bio? Hmm… well, I like sunsets, long walks on the beach, a beer in my hand and a woman to share it all with. But sadly, there don't seem to be a lot of beaches… or alcohol, for that matter."

"I'm getting tempted to just shoot this guy right now," Lilly acknowledges, probably not meaning it but causing enough of a reaction out of this punk to get him to stop fooling around.

Sliding backwards on his butt through the mud a little bit, Marcus raises a hand in defense as he chuckles nervously. "Alright, alright, you're serious. I get it. For real, this time," he promises, getting on my nerves with his personality after just five minutes of meeting him. "I'm a mercenary; a gun for hire. I was supposed to be on my way to being a police officer when all of this happened," he reveals as I force Lilly to put her gun back down against the side of her leg. "And you three… or _four_, I suppose… owe me after – oww, okay that hurts…"

Not impressed by his actions or this guy's cocky demeanor, Lilly moves past me as she goes to verbally annihilate the guy. Lilly's temper is rising through the roof today, and unfortunately I think that it might have something to do with me. The water soaks through her jacket and turns her hair into a used mop as she tries wringing it out to the side. Clem doesn't seem like she's having a great time out here either, if the annoyed scowl on her face is any indication.

"Nothing's broken on you… probably just a shit-load of bruises," she states in a cruel fashion. Looking over to me with a wry grin, the air feels a little cooler at how indifferent she seems today about another person's suffering. Perhaps it's just her way of keeping herself and the rest of us safe, since it does seem pretty suspicious for Marcus to be out here by himself. "I think the most that we owe this dick is a bullet in his gut – just for the attitude alone. We don't have the time to spend on this, Jane. We need to keep going on to Ranger's Grove as soon as possible."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! Ranger's Grove? You folks might want to get your bearings then," Marcus remarks, pointing in the complete opposite direction as I visibly pale, "because that shit box is that-a-way."

Huffing out a sigh, I lightly kick the ground in annoyance as I realize that Lilly was right about it the whole time. Great, now we're even more lost than we were before, and as usual we're completely on our own. None of us have heard from anybody at all for a day or so at least, which either means that everyone's dead, they're all caught, or they all seem to think that this is just some big joke to them and that nothing will come out of this. In this instance only, I'd like to think that that's the case.

Stubbornly refusing to admit that Lilly was right about the directions thing the entire time, I wipe some of the rain out of my eyes as I motion for the three of us to head back to the truck. If this guy's gonna be an ass about it, then there's nothing stopping me from trying to take off; no conscience around to bug me about this being morally wrong.

When have my morals ever been good to me anyways? Clementine kept the both of us from stealing from Arvo, and yet she still got shot in the shoulder. If there's a god or some other powerful deity up there actually watching over us up there, then he's one spiteful douchebag for allowing that kind of shit to happen.

"Hey, wait a minute! You can't leave me out here! You crashed into me!" he calls out after us, to which Lilly scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you to look both ways when crossing the street?" she questions coyly as I let out a small snigger. "You're fine, asshole. Your legs are clean – get up and walk."

Trying to do so in obvious amounts of pain, Marcus limps sorely as he tries one last time for us to give him a lift. That's more than likely what he was trying to do in the first place. "Alright, how's about this? I'll forget all about this hit and run," he suggests, although that's really not a huge selling point, "and I'll even _work _for you. I told you – I'm a gun for hire! You give me some food, ammunition and safe passage to Hunter's Retreat, and we can call it even! Just don't leave me out here!"

As soon as he mentions Hunter's Retreat, the three of us stop briefly in our tracks and look at each other; thinking over the possibilities. If that's where he's heading, then this might be a good opportunity for us after all. Ranger's Grove isn't too far from that place, if I can recall correctly after having read the map in the glove compartment.

"We're all exhausted – might as well keep going to this place. Maybe whoever lives there will be able to help us out," Clem suggests, noting that the three of us make decisions together now. Opening the truck door to ask Ellie if she thinks this is a good plan, she remains discouraged after she continues to keep her head down and stay quiet. Coming back out to us, she sighs in regret as Lilly starts helping Marcus back on his feet. "Why do I get the feeling that I totally screwed this up somehow?"

Not really knowing how to comfort her, I pat her shoulder as per my signature grief counselling mechanism as I look down at her reassuringly.

"You didn't – she just needs a little time. It's not something that'll just happen overnight, Clem. We just need to give her a little breathing room," I suggest, knowing the feeling that people get when they'd prefer to be alone for a little while.

That's the one thing about being out on my own that I particularly enjoyed – there was never anybody around to bug you or batter you with constant questions over whether you were feeling alright or not. It was just you, a can of beans, and the open road. You could have as much alone time as you could ever possibly want, although you'd definitely have to watch out when you started talking to yourself to pass the time – then it'd probably be a good idea to sit back and re-evaluate your life some more.

Lowering the back hatch of the truck as Marcus is roughly placed inside, Lilly shakes the rain off of herself as she smacks her forehead lightly; forgetting that she's had a hood that could've kept her at least a little bit dry this whole time. "I still say we should double back and go the way we came," she inputs as we step into the truck, but frowning when she glances at Marcus through the back window, "but thanks to this asshole, that's not exactly an option right now. Let's just get out of this rain and find this Hunter's Retreat place."

"What the fuck, lady?! It's pissin' rain out here!" Marcus complains, tapping on the window and glaring when he sees that the M 14 he was carrying is now safely in my lap. I've gotta say, this is a pretty nice piece of hardware that he's been lugging around.

The emotion crossing Lilly's face says it all – we don't give a rat's ass right now. The sooner we get to this place, the sooner we can find help or at least drop this nutjob off. I mean, sure he may have been on his way to being a cop at one point or another, but a _mercenary_? The fuck? Who in their right mind would spend their days going around the countryside looking for work during a time like this?

And it's not even good, honest work either – he's a hitman! They used to lock up guys like him back in the day! Hell, he'd probably be _doing _most of the arresting when it came to people like him!

"Pick up that tarp that's underneath your ass! It should be enough to keep you warm and dry… assuming it doesn't fly away in the wind!" she hollers out to him over the roar of the storm that's still raging outside. She's been getting a lot edgier and icier with people recently, as far as I've noticed. It could just be from running into Joshua again, which could potentially be bringing up some shitty memories, but come on. There's a limit. "And that reminds me – we're keeping the gun with us until we get to where we're headed towards. Call it a bit of insurance so that you don't try shooting us from back there. What else are you packing?"

"Gah! Nothing, just… just fucking drive!" he demands, leaning his head back against the cool metal casing as he tries to maneuver the tarp onto his head. "What the hell have I gotten myself into…"

Spray painted arrows pointing us down the road have been placed on the bark of some of the tall coniferous trees as the smell of pine wafts through the truck. There's nothing really pleasant about that aroma anymore after having travelled so many nights with the two dodo birds who I've taken to calling my travelling companions, but who needs an air freshener anymore when you can just use what nature intended? It's pretty much a win-win scenario – we get a nice-smelling vehicle, and the forest life gets some visitors, I guess.

You know the old proverb – if a tree falls in the forest and nobody's around to hear it, does it… yeah, you get the idea.

"You can be a real mean bitch, you know that?" I comment with a smug look on my face. Letting her fingers relax against the cool leather of the steering wheel, Lilly breathes out in content as we get closer and closer to our short-term goal.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

* * *

"…this can't be right…" I insist, pulling the map out of my back pocket as I unfold it and scrutinize over the details; twirling it left, right and upside down to try and get a clear sense of where we actually are.

But this doesn't even make any sense! How can this place be a safe zone for anybody at all? Are you trying to tell me that an abandoned metro tunnel is where people have decided to stick with? The gate's still got a thick, metal padlock on it, for god's sake! How could anyone possibly be living around here?

At least the rain's finally stopped, thank goodness. The ground's all muddy and squishy as my boots make these disgusting swish sounds every time I move around. Puddles (more like miniature lakes) have been left over from the storm along with fallen leaves and tree branches that had gotten blown off in the wind. The sun's already starting to shine through the dark clouds that are moving away from us, and if you look closely enough, there's a small, pretty rainbow shooting out over the horizon. Maybe if we follow it to the end it'll lead us to the rest of our guys, or at least a leprechaun with a big pot of gold. That'd be nice, too.

The distant colours certainly don't match any of our moods today, as Lilly comes within a few feet of the sign and tries to make sense of the weathered chicken scratch plastered on the billboard. A big, red "X" has once again been spray painted telling us where to go, but it looks as though whoever did it was in a bit of a rush. Quite a hasty paint job on their part.

"Try not to take it too personally – we do this with pretty much everyone," I hear Clementine explaining things to Marcus behind me; the closest thing to an apology that he's ever likely to get. My ears perk up a bit at the sound of her voice, but my mind's rather occupied at the moment with this riddle that stands before us. One way or another, I suppose we're going to have to try and find our way inside this place… into the dark, stinky, murky metro tunnel… Ugh, just thinking about it makes me want to vomit.

Resorting to spitting on the rain-soaked grass to my left, I try solving this mystery as Marcus snorts in slight amusement.

"So lemme get this straight," he pauses, groaning as he carefully edges his way off the truck, "you run people over with a truck and just expect them all to like you?"

"…ok, that part was new, but you get the idea. Don't trust strangers and all that."

"Clem? I could use some help over here with this gate! Bring Ellie along too, would ya?" Lilly hollers without even looking over her shoulder. It doesn't take the mind of a genius to figure out what she's doing – trying to get those two as far away from Marcus as possible. Honestly, I think she might need to cut the kid a break on this one. So far he seems like a pretty stand-up kind of dude, and hasn't really caused any problems for us yet.

Time will tell if that sentiment holds true, but for now I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Got your nail file handy?" Lilly asks me, cringing when I shake my head and explain that I accidentally left it on a dresser back at the station. Giving a sour look, she tells Clem to turn around as she starts rooting through her backpack; once again coming up a little short as she finds nothing but a pack of toothpicks. Those would break far too easily. "Well this could be a bit of a conundrum," she remarks, zipping the bag back up before trying to shake the gate a little bit. "We might need to do this the old fashioned way, otherwise we're getting back on the road. Those walkers we passed might end up being here soon. Anyone got a light?"

Surprising everyone, Ellie of all people anxiously digs through her pocket until she fishes out the same butterfly lighter that Clementine used to own. By the sour look on the Firefly leader's face, I'd say that she took it by less than legitimate means.

"You're turning into a regular, old kleptomaniac, kid," Lilly comments, though the young girl probably thinks that's some kind of compliment. Trust me, Ellie – it's definitely not. Taking the lighter out of her outstretched fingers, Lilly flicks it on a few times until the spark ignites the small flame. "Let's see… looks like nobody's home…" she remarks as we all hear a couple of gunshots from behind us.

Turns out Marcus is already well on his way to getting rid of some of the walkers that have been following us.

"Dead incoming! You'd better get us in there quickly!" he firmly states in between bullet shells. The guy's got his hands full, so I offer to help out by pulling out my knife and ending yet another undead life as the blade is implanted in the back of its skull. Black ooze sprouts onto my arm like rotten juice as I pull out the weapon and proceed to the next one.

I'm not as concerned about the dead right now as I am about Marcus, though – so much for not having any guns on him!

"I thought you said you were unarmed!" I yell out, backing up a bit as the few walkers become a couple dozen. Sometimes it's best to know when to cut your losses and run, so I lower my knife and hurriedly start sprinting back towards my crew.

"I lied!"

"Yeah, no shit! Lilly, get us in there _NOW!_"

Hearing the urgency in my voice, Lilly swings Marcus' gun off of her shoulders and tells Ellie to back up. Like a crack of dynamite, she fires a couple of bullets at the lock and makes it totally irreparable, but at least we've got a way into the dark, smelly depths below.

Hey, anything's better than up here with these guys!

Just barely making it down the steps and falling to his knees in a puddle of dirty sewage water, Marcus coughs as Clem and Ellie help him back to his feet. I slam the gate shut just as the walkers congregate into a huge mash-up of zombified monsters with widened, greying eyes, rotten flesh and jaws of steel. It's like looking at a bunch of piranhas when you hang a fresh slab of meat over the river they're swimming in – total fucking chaos.

Knifing a few more of them as Lilly shoots two or three in the head, we have no other choice but to keep going into the dark tunnels to meet whatever it is that we might encounter down here. Is it just going to be more dead bodies, or are these all a bunch of mole people who haven't seen the light of day in five years or more?

"No going back now," Lilly remarks dully, flicking the lighter on again as she provides our only light source down below. It's a real shame about leaving the truck behind, but hopefully we'll be able to retrieve it again once we're finished with all of this business. Lilly's still got the key if we ever do manage to make it back. "Keep your guard up, everyone. Never know what you're going to find in places like this. _Marcus _can lead the way," she adds as she narrows her eyes, making sure to keep a steady eye on him this time, even though he helped save us all back there.

Groaning slightly as I realize that we're going to have to wade through some more of the water, I make sure that Ellie can still stand as we trek onwards. This reminds me a lot of New Orleans, and that time we almost got nabbed on a whole bunch of different opportunities.

Hopefully that shit won't happen again.

* * *

Oh. My. God. I don't know how to explain how… how messed up things are down here right now. It's almost incomprehensible.

It didn't take us very long to find people down here, but I sort of wish that we hadn't at all. The depraved conditions of Hunter's Retreat are basically astronomical in scope, with people beating the shit out of each other over the tiniest scraps of medicine, others just lazily on their backs lying on flattened cardboard boxes, and others sitting up against the wall with no regard for the sewer rats that occasionally dart past them; eyes red-rimmed and glossy from only god knows what substances they've been taking.

As we carefully march forwards, with Marcus in particular looking pretty surprised at the conditions, the various inhabitants stare at us in a creepy fashion. Their glances aren't filled with suspicion, but more like hope and despair. The living conditions down here actually makes sleeping unprotected underneath a tree seem a lot more tempting.

"How could it have gone downhill so fast?" Lilly asks rhetorically, looking a bit saddened that these people are living in such squalor. "I know times are tough and all… but this…"

"We have to help them," Clementine says with a determined look on her face; her cap lowered a little bit as it covers the top of her eyes. "I'm not gonna stand by and watch as people soil themselves like this. We're going to get these people back on their feet again – give them a fighting chance."

Worried that she might be taking on more than she can handle, seeing's how we've only just arrived at this place, I step in and voice my opinion as I glance over at one man in shock. It doesn't take long for me to realize what that white, powdery substance is that he's got lined up in a row; lowering his head as he snorts the cocaine up through his nostrils. Where the hell would he have even found something like that?

Rolling his eyes back for a brief second as his nose already starts to bleed, the man shakes his head in a drug-induced state as he smiles with rotting, darkened teeth towards me. "Want a hit?" he offers as I choose to keep my head down.

"These people might be too late for saving," I whisper as we head up an immovable escalator that now just serves as a flight of stairs. "Clem, I know your intentions are good and all, and I can't say that I'm not proud by what you've been doing…" I remark, watching as she quickly flinches at that. Or did I just imagine it? "But these people… sometimes you can't save everyone. Sometimes you've gotta just roll with the punches and move on. These people are too far gone, I mean… just take a look around you!"

Once we get to the second level and can oversee pretty much the entire camp, we get a much better picture overall of what's going on around here. Old garbage cans being used as fire pits, men, women and children practically begging us for some kind of nourishment to end their suffering, little kids wandering around trying to sell us old candy packs for any sort of fresh water that we've been able to collect… this place is a disaster zone. I'm almost certain that this metro is nothing more than a disease-ridden, poverty-driven, cesspool of filth and despair, and that might be putting it _kindly_. If this is supposed to be a community, then it has to be one of the worst that I've seen in a long time.

How none of these people have died yet is what really shocks me. I guess the human race is a lot more durable and persistent than I had given us credit for.

Unscrewing the lid of her water canteen, Clementine bends down on one knee as she smiles at a young boy and offers him some of the liquid. Once more of the children start to see this unfold, she deeply sighs with a frown as she steps back and simply lets them all have it. Clem's had her fill for the day, and by the desperate look in these kids' eyes, it definitely seems like they'll be needing it more than she will right now.

"Thank you, hat lady!" one of the girls beams up at her, and I can't help but want to retract my former statement as my heart gets tied in a knot. This is absolutely ridiculous – these kids have had to grow up in the worst kind of conditions imaginable. If the apocalypse had never happened, most of them would probably be in school right now somewhere; Ellie and Clem as well. It's kind of a cruel twist of fate to realize that none of them will likely ever get that chance to have a normal life as Lilly, Marcus and I once had.

"We have to try at least! That's what we're supposed to be doing, anyhow," she points out as Ellie sadly talks to some of the other kids who look to be around her age. "Look, maybe we can work out some sort of deal back home. Where's their leader? I think we need to give them a piece of our minds after seeing all of – "

"You don't need to look too far, honey."

Stepping out of the shadows comes a greasy-looking man with a calm, yet slightly intimidating voice. He's got a red shirt on underneath a dark blue jacket, dark brown hair that's been parted at the side, and a goatee to match. He may seem like a friendly enough guy, but something about him seems to throw me off.

Clem and Lilly both seem to get that impression as well.

"Who are you?" Clementine questions with a slight tone of hostility to her voice. The man, however, either doesn't seem to notice this, or is just playing it off as nothing at all.

He's got snake written all over him.

"The name's David, ladies. It's uh… it's a pleasure to make your acquaintances," he smiles, holding out a hand which Clementine, with a lot of reluctance, shakes with a disturbed expression. "I'm the leader of this community, if you'd like to believe. And you three look a little lost – why don't we go on over to someplace that's a little more quiet?"

With a lot of hesitation, the four of us (minus Marcus, who's gone off to sit in a nearby chair) agree to David's request as we start heading over to some of the worn-out couches that are situated away from the main group.

Upon noticing the little girl among us, David smiles and bends down to Ellie's level as he looks her straight in the eye.

"And who might you be, little lady?" he questions, to which Ellie tiredly looks up to greet him. She tries to put on a brave face even though we all know she doesn't like talking to strangers, but quietly introduces herself regardless.

"E-Ellie…"

"Well, it's very nice to meet you there, Ellie. I hope none of our group members were scaring you," he pats her shoulder lightly; rubbing his hand along the poncho as Clementine contorts her face in anger. Once again, this goes over David's head. "Now come on – you must be tired after moving around so much outside. I'm sure that we'll all soon be getting along very, very well…"

* * *

_AN: If you don't know who this guy is, look him up in the Last of Us – you may end up cursing his name once you find out :/ _

_Thanks for reading, as per usual guys! Please leave a review and tell me what you guys think! They're always welcome, and I'll see you guys next time :D _


	21. Sing me the blues

_AN:…is everyone cool now? Is it safe to post shit again? Good. Way too much drama this past weekend, seriously…_

_Anyways, on that bright, sunny note, here's some more shout outs for you rockin' peeps! _

_This right here's for Black Galaxy Stars! This person's given me a whole bunch of really awesome reviews for both this story and previous ones, and is also the proud owner of Elliot in this story! So thank you so much for all the support, and yes, eventually I will try to get around to finishing COPS… probably XD I've been trying to come up with ways to finish it, and I think that I'm starting to come up with something. Anyway, thank you very much!_

_Second's for clemmyclue19! I don't know if she's actually coming back or not lol (where'd ya go?) but she's been extremely supportive of this story and previous ones in the past, and she also created Kazuki if you guys wanted to know. She's a really great addition to the story, so thank you for that!_

* * *

_**James' POV**_

"You're late."

Grinning like a damn fool, Luna steps into the little dining room that we have as she quietly shuts the door behind her. We don't use this room very much, if at all really, since there hasn't really been the need for eating in here for a very, very long time. But, according to Bo and the rest of these clowns, apparently this is a special occasion of some sort.

How the hell would they know if it was actually New Year's Eve or not around this time of year? I'm pretty sure they're just using it as an excuse to drink up some of the alcohol that Luna, Jake and Scott had found while on their "little detour". Yeah, I'm quite aware that they went farther than they were supposed to.

I don't know why we even had one of these in the space centre to begin with, to be frank. Don't get me wrong, it's a really nice place with the scarlet curtains, maple wooden table and chair set, and the nice (while also very expensive) carpet that rests underneath our feet, but it seemed a little out of place in a building like this. Science labs and fancy dining rooms don't really seem to mesh together.

Luna doesn't seem to mind, though – in fact, I think this place actually makes her seem a little happier than usual. Where are Scott and Jake though?

And more importantly to me anyways, where's Bo?

"If someone invites you folks over for dinner, you'd think that the least you could do is be punctual…" I mutter, sitting down in my chair as Luna plops herself down into her seat and immediately pops open a wine bottle before anyone else shows up. Classy, this one. "You know how I feel about people running late – out here especially. It's not safe for people to be wandering about at night."

Scratching behind her ear and flicking some hair follicles onto the floor, Luna shrugs her shoulders before taking a big gulp of the alcoholic substance. "We just got here a little while ago, doc. It's been a long journey," she points out, stretching her arms to the sky as she sighs in relaxation. "You worry way too much, Jim. Loosen up a little bit!"

"It's _James_, and it's my job to worry. You, on the other hand, have a much bigger problem than I do."

Knowing that that would capture her attention, seeing's how she doesn't like people telling her what she can and cannot do, her eyes seem to glimmer in the dim lighting of the dining room as she pointedly glances over to me.

"Oh really? What's that, then?"

"Alcoholism," I tell her bluntly, referring to the wine bottle in her hand as she quickly puts the cork back in and rolls it underneath the table; the swishing sound in the bottle just making it all the more obvious that she's embarrassed about it. "Not a nice trait to have these days, Luna. It makes you dull; unaware of what's going on around you," I point out, feeling a little off-put as her eyes take a softer look to them as her red-tinted lips curve in a suggestive smile.

Is she trying to… _flirt with me?!_

"Oh, I think I know _exactly _what's going on here, darling," she purrs as I can practically smell the scent of booze from the other end of the table. "I know you want me, James! Fess up – you don't need to be ashamed of loving me!"

Finding the whole scene terribly unappealing, I roughly clear my throat before picking the wine bottle up from the carpet and pouring myself a glass. Now I see why she needs to have this stuff all the time – it can get you out of the most awkward of situations.

Hopefully after one sip I can just magically make all of this disappear.

"Perhaps finding someone your own age would be more appropriate… I'm a whole lot older than you," I suggest, trying my best not to make eye contact as she chuckles softly. Does she seriously find all of this amusing?!

"I'm nineteen! It's legal, you know! Why can't I be in love with you?"

"Because I'm not someone that you'd want – trust me, it's not worth your time. You'd be terribly disappointed," I insist, trying to dissipate whatever bubbling, misguided feelings she might have for me. I can't say that I've ever had to deal with this kind of thing before – is it weird that I feel kind of flattered, and yet totally sickened at the same time? "Now come on, let's chow down before the flies get here and eat it for us."

Puzzled, Luna frowns slightly as I pick up a fork and knife and start digging in. Who would've thought that venison and beans would actually be a good combination? I'll have to cook more often!

"I thought you wanted to wait for Bo?" she questions as she gestures to the door with a confused expression.

Shaking my head, I take another bite out of the meat; encouraging Luna to do the same before the dinner starts to get cold. "He's never this late – if he's not here yet, that means he's got something important to be doing. No need to wait for him."

"Dinner for two, then?" she smirks knowingly, causing me to roll my eyes in exasperation. "Cheers, mate."

"Don't push your luck," I comment dryly, clanking my wine glass against her as we both take a big gulp.

* * *

_**Bo's POV **_

With one ear pinned up against the door, I get a much better idea of how the conversation is going inside the dining hall than Jake and Scott do, but either way we're all feeling as giddy as a group of school children as we hear their banter. I nearly burst out into an incessant fit of laughter when Luna started saying that James wanted her, but thankfully I managed to keep that under control.

I wouldn't want to spoil this magical moment after all!

"Oh James, you are _never _gonna be able to live this down," I snicker quietly, feeling like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland as I decide to give the side of my head a break. This is comedy gold right here! "Jake, get your damn knee out of my back! Oww! Dude, would you two knock it off back there?! You're gonna spoil everything!"

"I'm starving! Do you know how long it's been since we've had a proper meal?" Scott whines, sounding more like a mopey teenager as he reluctantly backs away and slumps against the wall.

Rolling my eyes, I try to whisper so that the two love birds in there won't be disturbed… and so that we don't get totally busted for this afterwards. "It's been less than three days, drama queen… and you already had food prepared for you. You can afford to miss one more – or if it'll quit your bitching, I'll give you my leftovers when they're done in there."

"We ate canned shit for three days! It tasted like scrap metal!"

"How would you even know what that tastes like?" Jake questions as a faint blush of embarrassment appears on Scott's cheeks. Clearly he's got some explaining to do.

"It was a dare… we were up north in Washington during the winter for a school trip," he recalls sheepishly, and I nearly face palm as I start to realize what these _friends _of his made the guy do. So stupid… "We found one of those old lamp posts that you used to see in old-time Europe, you know? And so, the dare was for me to… to lick it. Naturally, I got stuck there for over half an hour and held up the rest of the class. They practically needed to rip my face off the pole, and it took over a year for it to heal properly…"

"You didn't…" Jake remarks, holding his head in his hands as Scott nods in confirmation. "Oh my god… I don't even want to know anymore… My curiosity is sated enough for one day – that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

Putting a finger to my lips and widening my eyes as I hear footsteps coming from the other side of the door, I quickly usher the two of them down the hall as we all hide behind the corner. James would ring my head through a meat grinder if he found out we were eavesdropping on a dinner that we were actually supposed to attend, so I deeply sigh and give up on trying to listen in. Might as well find something better to do – this has been pretty childish, if not super fun at the same time.

Leading them down the hall, I lift up a hand to punch in the code, but stop myself when I remember that the power has gone out in almost all sections of the space centre. Tommy had mentioned before how he was going to fix it… that clever bastard. Too smart for his own good, unfortunately.

It's a good thing James and I (well, mostly me) had managed to keep him quiet right up until his surprising departure. I thought for sure that he'd end up sticking around, but he's not our problem any longer.

"You fellas ready to see where the magic happens?" I ask them, swinging the door wide open as they already start to gape in awe. "Welcome to history, gents…" I whisper as they glance at the rocket which I must have seen at least two thousand times by now. This room hasn't seen a whole lot of activity besides James and I coming to make sure that things are still operational from time to time, but showing the grand tour every now and again sort of reminds me of the community we had before. I miss those days… I miss hearing the kids sprinting down the hallway, playing games and just enjoying themselves while their fathers would holler after them to slow down. I miss the times that I spent playing a good game of chess when my shift on watch duty would be completed; looking out over the city as the sun would go down.

Those times are gone now, but maybe it's better in some respects – we're no longer just living in a fantasy. The people around here may be hard-headed and miserable a bunch of the time, but at least they seem to be a capable bunch.

I can't tell you how many hours of sleep I lost just lying awake at night wondering what might happen if a herd of roamers just came over and swept this place clean. I don't need to worry about that so much anymore.

"Go ahead and flip that switch for me, would ya?" I call out to Jake as he nears the long distance radio machine, having heard that it actually works after James explained certain things to me. He seemed a lot calmer at that point.

Doing as I've bid, Jake switches it on as the dash lights up; giving me an excuse to try and contact our missing patrons up in Missouri. The trail had gone pretty cold over the last couple of days, and we had wanted to conserve battery life for the machine, so we've only used it for brief amounts of time.

Settling into the chair directly in front of it, I start turning the dials until I finally manage to find the signal from Kelly's radio. I hope they're still out there somewhere…

"Hey Scotty? You still have that hatchet thingy with you? I wanted to try a few swings with it – seemed like a pretty solid weapon in a pinch," Jake compliments as Scott checks his backpack and opens up the zippered pockets. Whatever they may have found out there really pales in comparison to the task at hand, but at least it'll keep them busy for a little while.

"_Kelly? This is Bo calling from the Houston Space Centre! Does anyone copy, over?"_

Snapping his fingers in dismay, Scott shakes his head as he looks up towards the ceiling. "Must've left the thing in the chopper," he remarks, "I'll go grab it and bring it down."

"Nah, don't trouble yourself. It's not going anywhere," Jake shakes his head, gesturing to all the interesting stuff sitting around. "I'll go grab it later – there's some things that I've gotta fix up in the chopper later anyways."

"If you say so…"

Choosing to practice the art of patience as once again I hear nothing but static on the other end of the line, I continue to holler into the microphone in the slim hopes that _somebody _will actually pick up the signal. I hate being in the dark on things like this, as do most people. It's like getting a huge cliff hanger at the end of a really good movie and you realize that you have to wait two or more years for the sequel to come out.

It's mind boggling how frustrating the god damn waiting game can be.

"Hey Bo! Why don't you ever use this stuff to fight off the undead?" Jake questions, walking around with the space helmet like an idiot as he prepares to put on the rest of the getup. "This outfit is _awesome, _dude! You could be like a friggin' juggernaut in this thing! Nothing would be able to stop you!"

"It's definitely not bulletproof," I explain, pointing to the rack as he reluctantly puts the space suit back where it belongs. They're not tear-proof either, as scary as that might seem. The fabric may not be quite at the strength level as it once was.

Blowing a raspberry, Jake looks around impatiently in search of something productive to do. I'm trying to find our friends, Scott is looting through old newspaper clippings and silently chuckling at the cartoons from long ago, but not poor, old Jacob. If he's not fiddling around with some kind of machine or trap or anything of that nature, then he never seems to feel satisfied.

Sliding his hand along the railing, he turns to me as I try again to contact our fellow Fireflies.

"Got anyone up on lookout right now?" he asks as I turn my head in fright; having completely forgotten about that today. Jake doesn't seem to be too alarmed though, as he waves his hand out nonchalantly. "No worries, Bo, I reinforced the lock on the front doors. Nothing's getting in without our say-so," he reassures, mentioning that he's going up top anyways.

Not paying him much more mind than that, I spin back in the chair and continue adjusting the volume dial as he starts the climb up to the roof.

About three minutes or so later, some literal magic actually happens.

"…_hello? Bo? Is that you?"_

"Holy shit… we've got contact again!" I exclaim as Scott rushes over to my side. "Yeah, it's me, Kaz! Are you guys alright? Where's Kelly, is she with you?"

"_We…we're trapped in one of the houses! They almost caught us!" _she exclaims, having to whisper for some unknown reason. _"Shit! We've gotta hide! Alden, get over h-"_

Frantically turning the dials and slamming my fist on the control panel when the signal goes dark once again, I lean my forehead on the cold metal as I shake my head in anxiety.

Clem… you better get there quickly.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

It's been five minutes that we've been talking with this man, and already I'm starting to get a nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach.

It's not just limited to the soft yet dark underpinning of David's voice, or the greasy, slicked back hair of his or even the creepy grin he wears whenever it's our turn to add to the conversation – it's literally all of the above and then some. The deplorable, decrepit state of this metro is messing with my head, and the saddened, depressed look on the faces of its inhabitants makes me want to just pluck them all up one by one and bring them back home with us. In all my time spent with the Fireflies, I've never wanted to be more of a beacon of hope for people than where we are at right here, right now.

These people need a little light in their lives more than any of us.

I've still not gotten used to the dank, disgusting smell of the place, nor the way that the mold grows on the concrete blocks thanks to the water that drips down through the cracks in the surface. There's also the matter of bats taking nest up so high that nobody has been able to shoo them away, and the occasional stray walker that'll somehow manage to find its way through the sewer tunnels on the opposite end of where we had come from.

"We call them Infected," David had told us earlier when we described some of our experiences up top. It literally seems as though this man is the only one who kind of has an idea of what things are really like out there.

Of course, it could be that things are even worse _down here_.

"So, I can't help but notice that you people don't travel lightly," he comments as he glances at the various weapons that we carry around on our person. "You could practically equip a small army with the heat you're packing over there. I can't say that it's not making our people a little nervous, with a group of your size able to inflict so much… destruction."

"We're not handing anything over, if that's what you mean."

"No, no, of course not," David chuckles humourlessly as Lilly protectively holds onto her rifle. "I'm just saying that we typically… don't get a whole lot of visitors down here. You understand, right? We've all got people to look after."

Taking a good, hard look at the surrounding area, with people on the brink of starvation and just festering with disease, Jane whistles mockingly as she makes a few slow claps.

"And what a job you guys have done. Bravo, just bravo," she gives him a big thumbs up with a frown etched onto her face. "Not only did I want to gag upon coming in here, but now I just want to smack you across the back of the head! How could you possibly have let things go _this _badly?!"

Not liking the tone of voice or the fact that somebody's ridiculing him on how to run his own group, David looks over at me sternly with narrowed eyes. "I'd ask that if you would like to continue our friendly conversation down here," he reprimands through gritted teeth, "that you would keep your smart-mouthed companion over here at bay. You're all our guests down here, but I'd have no problem kicking you back out onto the road if you all continue to insult our way of life. This is our home, and I'd like you to respect it as such."

His vocabulary alone would almost be enough to send Lilly into a fuming rage, but before she can even mutter a sound I turn to my comrades and shake my head. It's not worth it just yet – we'll get there eventually, as this cannot continue. People can't continue to live like this. What would even be the point of going on if _this _is all they have to look forward to?

But right now, we have to maintain a tactical advantage and focus on the primary reason that we came here in the first place – getting our friends back safe and sound. If they have any potential way of helping us, then that has to be our main objective.

Then and _only then _will we finally be able to discuss the situation down in this metro. Just sitting here gives me the creeps.

"We didn't come down here just for a visit," I brush off, getting back to the matter at hand. "We were on our way to Ranger's Grove to look for our friends," I point out, noticing how his face contorts darkly. "I take it you know what I'm talking about, then…"

"If your friends went there, then they're already dead… or soon _will be_," he remarks in a pessimistic fashion, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he leans back in his seat on the couch. The way that he keeps looking at Ellie has got me more than a little pissed off. "Ranger's Grove has been sacked and rebuilt so many times that I've lost count. I used to live there at one point, you see, and I've witnessed it getting taken over on countless occasions. Why the hell they would want a place like that is beyond me, especially when we've got a nice, safe setup right down here."

Upon noticing our less than impressed stares, David steps off the couch and ushers us to move forward to the railing. My blood turns cold when he offers Ellie a hand and that the girl unfortunately accepts the invitation.

Making sure to remain right by the girl's side, I'm the next to look out over Hunter's Retreat as we see the same poor conditions that we've been observing for the past little while. Why he'd want to show this off is anyone's guess.

"This place was settled by a colony of hunters a number of years ago, after the Infected started coming back to life and the metro was abandoned," he explains like some sort of tour guide, giving us the historic run-down as he holds his arms out wide like a preacher of sorts. "Since then, people have come here from all across the country seeking shelter or temporary relief from the outside world. It's a chance for people to escape; to start living again without having to resort to all of this… this violence," he mentions, gesturing to the guns again as Lilly stiffens up a little bit.

I get the feeling that she hates this place even more than the rest of us do.

"These people aren't safe here! Look at them! Half of these people are dying in their own shit, and the other half are drugged out of their minds!" blasts Lilly as my urges to keep quiet about this go unheard. It doesn't surprise me, really. Neither of the two women really have a strategic head for this sort of thing. "If nobody else will say it, then I will – with the way this place is running, soon you're going to end up with an entire army of the undead just wandering around, and nobody will be here to stop it from spreading."

Not allowing this to ruffle his feathers, David sticks his chest out a little bit as he shakes his head in denial. "Despite your judgemental ways, why don't you take a moment to consider just how fortunate we actually are down here?" he wonders aloud as a woman coughs violently a few feet away from us. "There are so few of us left out in the world, and times have been especially cruel," he shudders, as if just thinking about all the death is giving him waking nightmares. "Through it all, this place has stood tall and proud. How many other communities have been ravaged by bandits or worse? We get by down here – we've been living just as our ancestors did, and this community will continue to stand the test of time!"

Scoffing, Jane shakes her head at just how delusional the guy seems to be. Can he seriously not see that this entire place is crumbling right before his eyes? Is he seriously trying to justify the fact that children are starving, while parents and elders are struggling just to provide for their meager lives?

With most of Hunter's Retreat wrapped snuggly under his thumb, David appears content with the depraved conditions of his people, but as far as we're concerned, they can make their own choice. They can die in their cooped up little world, or they can potentially live out with the rest of us. I'd rather run the risk of guns, walkers and other people rather than stay down here for even a day.

"Under your leadership," Jane mentions, folding her arms sourly across her chest, "none of these people will make it. Your ignorance to what's really going on is gonna tear this place apart bit by bit."

"My leadership has kept us all _alive_! Now if you don't mind – "

Interrupted as two physically exhausted men sprint to a halt down below, David neglects his previous sentence as we all follow him down the escalator. Ellie nearly trips and falls flat on her face going down, so I reluctantly allow her to sit on my shoulders as we hit the bottom and scoot over to them.

"You've been gone for days," David points out, tilting one of the men's chin up as he awaits a response. I allow Ellie to settle back on the ground and dust off her faded jeans. "Well? Where's the rest of them? What happened out there?"

"_Gasp… _Johnson… he and Roscoe got caught… Joe, Ross and Frank got killed…" the man wheezes, clearly exhausted after such a long journey. When David widens his eyes at the news, the man lifts a finger as he continues. "It was Ranger's Grove… a new batch of people took over," he remarks, finally regaining his composure as his partner nods vigorously. "We can't let them get executed like Ross did – he got hanged by a belt from the fucking light post, David! They're going to murder them!"

Calmly (too calm if you ask me) internalizing and processing the information, David maintains a neutral position before turning towards the rest of us.

"Looks like you've found your opening," he comments as he pats his friend on the back. "These two can show you the way into Ranger's Grove – you can look for your friends in there, but you need to come back with my men… or you might as well not come back at all."

Realizing that he's got a point, I turn towards Lilly and Jane as the both of them nod in agreement. Something needs to be done – action needs to be taken quickly in order for them to survive. Who knows how long it'll be before Tracy finds our friends next?

"The girl can stay here until you get back…" David remarks suddenly as I put a protective arm around her waist. No way am I letting this creepy fuck alone with Ellie! "You're not seriously expecting a little girl to go out on a stealth mission, are you? I thought you'd be smarter than that."

"I'll stay here with her then. Jane, too," I add, needing another capable person here to stay with me in case things go south. Lilly can manage just fine – she's been through these kinds of combat scenarios numerous times before, and she knows a thing or two about sneaking up behind enemy lines. "Marcus can head on with you – he's a mercenary, and he knows what he's doing. But Ellie stays with me, and that's _final_."

Holding his hands up in defense, as if he really needs to justify himself to the rest of us, David takes a step back while nodding in solemn agreement and heading off to talk to the rest of his hunters. There aren't a lot of these guys here, and the crappy condition of their clothes and weapons makes me think that they aren't that well prepared. If Ellie was a little bit older, I'd say fuck this place and that we should just head out there immediately.

But if their numbers are as big as we've heard, then we might need all the help we can get… even if it's from a disturbing man like David.

"Be careful out there, you hear me?" Jane remarks pointedly, more than used to Lilly going out into the heat of danger at this point. "Don't even think about risking your life for any of these assholes… just stay out of sight and come back to us."

"Come back to _you_, it sounds like," she quips with a smug look on her face, giving Jane a quick peck on the lips as I look down at my feet. Not even five seconds later does Lilly come over and squeeze my shoulder reassuringly. "You've got this, Clem, I know you do," she tells me as her soft echoes ring off the walls of the metro. Speaking in a more hushed tone as she bends down in front of me, she fixes up my jacket as I smile at her with affection.

"You always have been one to worry too much about these things."

"Just… whatever you do," she whispers so that nobody else can hear, "don't trust David. And don't trust him with _her_."

The three of us stand there, surrounded by filth, misery and all kinds of ruined hopes and dreams, until Lilly, Marcus and the two they're with disappear from our sight down the long, dark tunnel. There's nothing in the world I would want more than for all of us to return to Houston and just start living normal lives again…

…but out here, those happy sentiments almost never tend to happen. Our struggle with Ranger's Grove has just begun.

* * *

_**Nobody's POV **_

Embroidered with red and white paint, various enhancements that really make it stand out among the other vehicles used out here, the helicopter sits tall and proud up on the roof of the space centre; a beacon of hope if the inhabitants had ever seen one. Things like these are a commodity that they've been extremely lucky to afford – a treasured artifact that sets them apart from the other random survivors just trying to get by on a daily basis.

If Jake hadn't known any better, he'd swear up and down that finding a place like this was nothing more than a pipe dream. But it's very much a reality now – he and the two he set out with can finally stop worrying about people coming to kill them in their sleep, while knowing that if something like that were to happen, they'd have an entire community to back them up. They're all a part of the same family now. Sure, some members might take some getting used to for the first little while, but for the first time in years, Jake actually feels as though he can be a part of something special again. He can finally contribute to something that won't just automatically fall apart as things usually do.

Whistling softly to himself as he pulls a wrench from out of the toolbox, Jake barely even registers the visitor that he's receiving up on the roof this evening. It's not as if he hasn't had to deal with Luna's bad habits beforehand. Clearly someone had a little too much wine at dinner this evening.

"You touching my shit now, Jake? Is…is that what this is?! I thought we went over this!" she blurbs out in a drunken fit as the nineteen year old slowly walks forward. Every step feels like a mile to her as her brain basically turns to mush and her eyes make everything seem blurry and unfocused.

Annoyed by the interruption, Jake continues to tighten bolts near the tail end of the chopper. "Calm down, Moonshine…" he retorts, using the nickname as a double whammy for her regular name and whenever she gets ridiculously liquored up. "I'm not taking the helicopter – I'm just grabbing something for Scott and fixing up one of the rotors."

Feeling insulted at the use of that nickname which she's explained countless times was hurting her feelings, Luna glares deeply at Jake; barely able to see him as the sun starts to go down. That just crossed the line, big time.

Wiping away some snot that's ungraciously made its way down her nose, Luna folds her arms together maliciously. "…you two think you're so fucking clever, huh?! Ain't that right, Mr. _All Up In Everyone's Business_?!"

"What the hell are you even talking about now? And why do you still have a bottle of vodka in your hand?!" he finally notices as the contents swirl and she swigs another drink back. "We talked about this! We agreed that you wouldn't go past your limit! Give it here!"

Lazily giving him the finger, Luna finds herself at odds with the man yet again. Throughout the time that they've known each other, they've had more than their fair share of fights and arguments over this kind of thing. In the past, Scott has usually always been around to break it up… but not this time.

And now Luna's got enough alcohol within her system that a verbal filter no longer applies.

"You know what? Fuck you, Jacob!" she bellows as he looks up from his work for a second. "You…you think you're some hot shit just because you know how to fix a fucking old lady's toaster when it gets on the fritz! You _and _Scotty are working side by side! You're both in on this horse shit together, fucking pansies!"

"Would you cut out the cussing already? I'm not in on _anything! _You're just throwing around stupid accusations!"

"Yeah, okay! As if I'm supposed to believe one damn word that comes out of your whore mouth!" she verbally assaults the man as her vocabulary becomes more and more vulgar with each passing second. "You know what the problem with you is, Jake? You and Scott both think that you're better than me! I can see it on both of your faces!"

Temporarily giving her his full attention, Jake puts the wrench back into the toolbox and replaces it with a screwdriver; holding it at his side as he tries to put the pieces together.

And Jake thinks that he knows exactly what this could've been prompted by.

"Is this about James shooting you down?" he insinuates, apparently guessing correctly as Luna's face lights up like a volcano.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU FUCKERS WERE SPYING ON US!"

"Luna, the guy's in his mid-forties! What made you think you had a chance with him anyways?"

"Don't… don't you fucking talk about him like that! We were _made _for each other!" Luna points towards him in anger. The tiny rocks underneath her shoes crackle as they spread across the rooftop, making it incredibly difficult for her to stand properly in her current state.

Deeply sighing and running a hand across his scalp, Jake decides to drop it for now as he turns back to the helicopter. There are some things worth getting into a debate over, but this definitely isn't one of them.

"I don't have time for this right now," he comments dryly, getting back to screwing in a bolt near the rotor panel. "Can you go bother somebody else, please? I need some space here, so how's about you take your vodka and drown yourself in booze downstairs? It's really distracting right now…"

Using her alcoholic logic, Luna tries her best to come up with a desirable explanation for why her friends seem to hate her so much, but all she can come up with is more confusion. Why do they act this way around her? Why can't they just treat her like everyone else? Why does everything always have to be so complicated?

So many _why's_, and not enough explanations given.

"That's what this is… y'all think I have issues… and can't contribute to the community…" she reasons as her voice becomes more raspy after shouting so much. "You think I'm just a stupid, lame fucking drunk who has nothin' better to do than to sit on my ass and drink my sorrows away! Well I've got news for you, shit for brains!" she snaps while edging herself closer and closer towards the mechanic. "I'm the one who's flying this bird! I'm the one carrying this team on my back to the path of victory!"

Groaning in frustration, Jake curses under his breath as he tries to get back to work, but Luna's not letting him have at it. "Would you listen to yourself, Moonshine?!" he exclaims with a huff. "Look, we all know that you've got family issues, but can you save it for another time? Go talk to your _boyfriend _downstairs – I'm sure James would love to get a look inside that screwed up head of yours…"

Like a slap in the face, Luna instantly gets a flash of recurring memories of a violent upbringing, a broken home and several excruciating years of therapy sessions that she had never asked for. So many tests she had to take… so many times she had to lie, smile, nod and try reassuring everyone that it was all just peachy. The truth would come out with alcohol, since that seemed to be the only saviour to her misery.

But upon realizing that she must've spilled her guts out on more than one occasion, Luna flips her lid.

"…what did you just say…?"

"You practically told me yourself about _Daddy _and how he used to be some drug-induced, raging sociopath, but guess what, Luna? You're not the only one dealing with problems out here! Don't go crying to me just because the world wronged you in one way or another! I've got too many things to worry about right now…"

Anger soon envelops her entire body upon hearing those scolding words; the words that have been said to her countless times before as a child and a young teen. It's no longer Jake standing there, but her father with a sickening smirk on his lips as he tells her what a shitty person she is over and over again.

_You think you're worth something to anyone?! Ha! You're a pathetic waste of space! I never should've slept with that bitch you call a mother – maybe then you wouldn't have been here in the first place, and I wouldn't have to be reminded of her every fucking waking moment!_

"You…fucker…" she whispers under her reeking breath, going to swing a fist right at Jake's jaw. The timing, unfortunately for her, is terribly clumsy and slow, so the man easily sees it coming from a mile away.

Dodging the blow and elbowing her in the ribs, Jake pins her right up against the helicopter as he holds her in place.

"Just drop it… don't make me kill you right now – I don't want to have to do this…" he warns, practically begging her to stop this madness as he holds the screwdriver close to her throat.

Upon seeing the tool wedged up against her neck pretty securely, with the cold metal reacting against the warm feeling that the substances have brought to her skin, Luna can't help but feel absolute loathing of this man. Who the hell is he to try this shit?! He's going to steal the helicopter and fly away with Scott; leaving her stranded with a bunch of strangers all because they think she deserves every ounce of hate she receives!

Feeling whatever kindling of friendship they may have had totally disappear, Luna prepares to end this and finally get rid of the unsuppressed anger she's feeling.

Clutching the neck of the vodka bottle firmly in her hand, the girl brings it up and smashes it cleanly across Jake's face; sending shards of glass to pierce through his eyeballs and cut deep into his face as blood gushes down rapidly. Screaming at the sheer torture that these lacerations have caused, Jake knocks over his toolbox as he stumbles closer to the edge.

Luna, still in an enraged stupor, roughly grabs onto his jacket and shoves him off the roof; incessantly telling him to fuck off as she looks on drunkenly until he hits the ground with a _splat_. Soft landing or not, the impact of falling at this height would've ruptured his vital organs and killed him almost instantly.

Sitting back down as if nothing had ever happened, Luna clutches what remains of her vodka bottle before trying to get the last few drops onto the tip of her tongue. When nothing else comes out of it, and the glass cuts the tip of her bottom lip, Luna splutters as she carelessly tosses the broken piece over her shoulder and down to the street below.

"Oh hey there, Scotty!" she remarks with a fit of giggles as the guy clutches a pistol shakily behind his back; unable to believe his eyes. "Come on, sit and chat for a little while! I think Jake's gonna be a little late to the party… but he should climb back up _aaaaaannnnnnyyyyy _time now…"

With grief plaguing his thoughts at the apparent loss of his good friend, Scott stands there as he feels his knees start to wobble. All the while, he tries to figure out what to do about this situation, and what it really calls for…

Kill Luna for the murder, and lose the best pilot they have? Or turn a blind eye and pretend that none of this had even happened?

Making his decision, Scott's teary eyes turn angry as his grip on the weapon tightens considerably; Luna unaware of what's going on as he steps up right in front of her.

"…Scott?"

"Fuck you…" he swears as the first bullet goes into her head. Then another. And another… and another… the boy doesn't stop he's unloaded an entire clip into her brain and left her looking like nothing more than a gory, bullet-ridden corpse.

Upon realizing that there's no way in hell either of them are still alive, Scott sinks to his knees before falling onto his side and weeping uncontrollably. He's always hated having to use guns; hated even being near them in the first place. And yet here he is now, with a used gun in his hand and a series of bullets imbedded into the skull of a person whom he once called a friend. The last two of his friends are dead… and he can't help but feel responsible.

Perhaps if he was here, then just like all those times before, this could've been fully prevented.


	22. Wake up

_**Lilly's POV **_

I swear, these two hunters that we were sent out with are nothing but a couple of emotionless robots. This is coming from _me_, the queen of pessimism and seriousness, so you know that it's gotta be pretty bad. The entire way here it's been Marcus either trying to tell some lame joke that neither of them even crack a grin at, or me asking them complicated questions to which they've given me simple "yes or no" answers.

Anybody want to tell me how "what do you think Tracy's group wants with your people?" warrants a yes or no answer? It's like they're not even paying attention!

I guess that's alright though – as cruel as it might sound, I don't really care for the two cyborgs up ahead, and I'm trying my best to absolutely _hate _the clown walking beside me. It's bad enough that he tried to hit on Jane the first time they met, but now Marcus won't stop grinning like he just won the jackpot of ten million dollars. It's driving me bonkers!

"You keep grinning like an idiot," I point out wisely as we cross further towards enemy territory, "and your face will get stuck like that."

Somehow managing to smile even more brightly, Marcus raises his eyebrows in amusement as we try not to fall too far behind from our _companions_. With how they act, you'd think we were their prisoners or something.

"Why don't _you _ever smile?" he genuinely asks me, to which I shrug my shoulders as my back starts to ache a little bit.

"There's not a whole lot of reasons to do so anymore."

"Pssh! Come on, don't be such a sourpuss! There's lots of things to be happy about!" he insists, twirling in a circle as he stares at a blue sky with puffy, white clouds. Just a little while ago the atmosphere was filled with nothing but dark grey and thunderclaps.

Maybe his happiness just magically changed the world around him, and put one single raincloud over my head instead.

"Oh yeah?" I probe further, having nothing better to talk about thanks to those two mutes up ahead. "Name some for me, then."

Nearly tripping over the muddy, grassy hill as we pass through a very open and very visible field, Marcus shields his eyes from the blaring sun as he suddenly remembers the busted sunglasses in his back pocket. Putting them on like a cocky little prick, he nods in content before turning back to me. "Hmm, let's see…" he contemplates, scratching his chin like some kind of philosopher. "Well, I've got my stunning good looks, my boy scout youthfulness, my dazzlingly bright white teeth – "

"I mean shit that actually _matters_."

"Keep up back there! We would've left the both of you behind if we had known you'd be this slow!" one of the assholes (Damien, I think his name is) yells at us as he and his friend disappear over the hill and down the other side. So much for him being a mute… he's just a monotone _dick_.

Getting here honestly wasn't too difficult – only one or two walkers roaming about aimlessly that we had taken down with ease. The walk over to this place has been pretty long, but then again, so has pretty much every trek we've ever done. I've never been a huge fan of travelling with strangers, but thankfully that hasn't come back to haunt me just yet.

Leaving Jane, Clem and Ellie with that fucking psychopath however, _definitely does_.

The entire time that he was talking about Hunter's Retreat and its occupants, about how they've prospered in that rat nest of an underground encampment, I wanted to hurt the bastard. I wanted to make him open his eyes and experience for himself just what those people were suffering through. That's no way to live – sitting there practically waiting to die while the whole world continues to revolve around them.

Despite what people might think, the world didn't actually end. It was _reborn_.

I'm not a religious person by any means – my parents were quite avid church goers back in their day, but I always hated it. I despised having to wear stupid dresses on Sunday mornings as a kid, and I never understood why we always had to sing songs. Was it somebody's birthday? Were we secretly at some sort of rock concert? And why did we have to pray all the time? Who the fuck was going to listen to a little shit like me? I remember one time in particular, when both of my parents and the rest of the congregation had lowered their heads and closed their eyes, I snuck away from the bench, grabbed as many of the cookies that they set out on a dinner plate as I could, and ran like the wind until I got to the parking lot outside.

What a thrill-seeker I used to be! Needless to say I got grounded for a month from that stunt, and took more than one earful from my Dad that weekend and throughout the next few weeks, but it didn't matter to me. I wasn't meant to be cooped up in a place like that – I wanted to be as free as a bird. I had my own morals; my own standards that I wanted to follow, and as I grew into my teenage years in a military household (mainly from my mother since Dad was hardly ever there), I came to resent religion even more. What kind of supreme deity would let all of these boys and girls die in pointless wars over who had the bigger stick that year? None of these things made sense to me, and so I began to distance myself further and further from my church-loving family.

I may still have that opinion, but at least now I can kind of understand where they were coming from… and why they wanted to believe so badly.

If this – all of this, from the killings, to the dead rising, to the starvation and utter helplessness – was supposed to be some sort of lesson to us, then mission fucking accomplished. The human race has been beaten down, slaughtered to the axe and largely put to the torch. We're battered, bruised and on our last legs… but we've _lived_. Against all odds we've managed somehow to keep holding on, and maybe that's what was supposed to happen. Maybe all of this is some sort of big plan, regardless if it was a group of actual people or some other power that we can't see.

Either way, it doesn't matter – none of that does. What's important is that we keep pushing back and not just survive, but _thrive_.

Maybe I've outgrown that pessimism that's been my trademark for so long, I don't rightly know anymore. But I trust my gut, and my gut's telling me that Clementine won't lead us astray. If the way that she was getting along with those families in Hunter's Retreat was any indication, I'd say that she's been prepping for this for over three years now. Clem's ready for change, and I know that Jane is too.

Maybe it's time that I start feeling the same.

_Plop!_

…are you fucking kidding me?

"Hahahahahahaha! Oh my god… Holy shit, I wish I had a camera right now!" Marcus chuckles as I hold my arm out in utter disgust. Couldn't the birds aim their shit somewhere else?! Why did they have to fire away right on top of me?! "Whoa, who, not happening! Don't wipe that stuff on me! Not cool, Lilly!"

"C'mere," I hold my arms out wide, sporting one of those stupid grins that he kept bugging me to use more often. Not such a great idea now, is it? "I want a hug, Marcus! Maybe then you could stop whining about losing in the lady department!"

"That's not what I had in mind! Eww, eww, eww! That smells so bad! Quit it!"

"HEY!" Damien snaps us out of it, angrily pointing ahead as I wipe the bird poop onto the grass. "Eyes front, stay focused! We're here…"

This doesn't seem legit to me. No walls, no fences, nothing really to keep an entire army from basically marching in and taking over. That must've been what David had been talking about, but it's hardly a surprise from the looks of things why there'd be so many different groups in charge of this place. The rows of suburban homes could be a pretty nice touch I suppose, if they had wanted to find a relatively walker-free zone to rest their heads.

Now it's just a matter of springing our friends, wherever they might be.

"Nice and quiet – we get in and out as quickly and efficiently as we can," I tell the three of them, to which they all agree as we prepare to head into Ranger's Grove. "Try to be as silent as possible – we don't want to draw any unwanted attention. Once we're inside, we can either split up and meet back here, or go in as a group. Your choice," I add in, although it doesn't look as though either of David's men want to leave the group. Marcus is probably used to fighting on his own, but even he seems to be hesitant on it out here.

"Here – I've got a couple of silenced pistols with me. They're shit on range, but good in close quarters," Marcus mentions as I grasp it within my hands. The _silencer _basically consists of a severe amount of duct tape and part of a car tire that's been hastily stuck together. "Just think of it as a home-made killing machine!" he boasts, but I don't have time to complain about the shoddy quality.

"Everyone ready?" I question to a round of nods as we file down the hill one at a time. "Let's bring 'em home."

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"Here," David remarks, presenting me with a tray of what I can only assume is some sort of food. "You need to eat something – I could tell that you girls were pretty famished when you walked in here."

As soon as the tray is placed in front of me, I just stare at it – not even poking it to see if it'll move back at me, nothing. If it wasn't clear before that I don't trust the man, then this should certainly do just that.

Staring back into his brown eyes with doubt, I say nothing as I continue to sit there with my hands in my lap. Jane's off interacting with the locals as she somehow got wrangled up by some of the kids. Currently she's being wrapped in an entire roll of toilet paper – a _mummy_, as one of the children put it. Even Jane seemed to get a kick out of it when they started, but now she seems kind of worried that they're going to strangle her with it.

None of those kids can be over the age of six, Jane – come on now…

Chuckling mirthlessly, David sits to the right of me as he leans one knee up and places his arm overtop of it in a comfortable position. "Still think I'm gonna poison you, huh?" he questions amusedly, most likely not realizing what it is that Jane and I have in store for this place once we get our people back. "I'd act insulted, but I've been shown a gun to the face before just by offering the same meal. You don't need to be afraid around here – we're all a family now. We should get used to each other…"

"You haven't given me a whole lot of reasons to try."

"Maybe you just need to be a little more open-minded," he advises as I roll my eyes out of his sight. I'd really like to give him a peace of my mind and let him know what I really think, but we cannot under any circumstances get kicked out of this place right now. Something about this guy makes me think that he'd insist Ellie stay here for her _own protection_ from Jane and I, but that would also only lead to more bloodshed. I won't allow that if I can help it.

At least, not until it's really and truly necessary.

"These people you have here," I remark, knowing fully well that he doesn't like it when I talk about his community, "how many are there?"

"Well, we haven't exactly been doing a head count lately."

"Approximately, then."

Tapping his fingers loosely against his thigh as he brushes a strand of greasy hair out of his face, David silently tries to figure this out as I spot Ellie sitting off by herself nearby; head buried in her knees as she brings them close to her chest. You can tell that she's been crying by the red, puffy rims surrounding her eyes, and it hurts me knowing that I was probably a major cause of this pit of misery. Stupid lack of insight… I should've just told her this right as soon as I found out, regardless if she was too young or not. At least I could've potentially proven the death to her, despite the mental scarring it could've left behind.

Every time I try to talk to her, she either just completely shuts me out, or she gives me one word answers and nothing more. Lilly and Jane seem to think that I've done the right thing, but now I'm not so sure. Ellie didn't even _ask _about her mother hardly at all before I just randomly decided to bring it up. Maybe she had already known deep down that she wasn't coming back, and so by me confirming the tragedy myself, I had just turned the aching sting into a torturous, scalding eruption. I don't even no anymore… there are too many doubts in my mind.

"I'd say close to fifty or so," David mentions, reminding me of what I wanted to say before. "Why does that interest you?"

"…how can you possibly protect all of them down here?" I wonder aloud as Jane starts to get a little annoyed with the toilet paper. Sure, it may have been all in good fun at the beginning, but now she looks almost like a combination of the Pillsbury Dough-Boy and the Michelin Man. "You need to clothe them, feed them, quench their thirsts and keep everyone from just straight up murdering each other in their sleep. And yet you sit here and they don't do any of that. How… how is that even possible?"

Picking something out of the small gap between his teeth, David pats me on the knee uncomfortably as he beckons me to follow him. "There's more to this place than you know," he states as he smiles at Ellie as he passes her by. "I've always wanted a daughter… I'd think if I were ever fortunate to become a father someday, I would hope that they'd be a lot like you…"

"Keep moving."

Under a watchful eye, David turns back to me with a wicked smirk as I return the glance with a steely glare of my own.

"No need to ruin that pretty face with all the jealous outbursts, Clem," he tells me as I try to keep a level head. There's too much at stake for me to just flush it all down the drain now. "Don't think that I'm not fully aware of what you're after. And know that I plan on keeping it for a very long time to come."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I feign innocence, but it's clear that David's not quite as naïve as I had anticipated beforehand. He's played the faithful, little leader card well for quite a while, and he knows this place backwards.

Too bad for him that the plan has already been set in motion.

Giving Jane the signal with two fingers behind my back, she instantly gets to work as she breaks free of the kids and heads down the stairs.

Let's see if she can start rumours and gossip as well as a news reporter can.

"Allow me to show you what we're dealing with behind the scenes," David invites, grabbing onto Ellie's hand before I can reach her. Unfortunately, as a guest, for now I simply have to obey and follow his rules while under his roof.

Heading up the stairs to the second level, I smirk as I hear Jane already bringing some of the people down below into a huddle. Three leaders is starting to work quite nicely.

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

"I'm telling you, Tom – this is fucked up! We just need to pack our shit, take off in the night and head out east," the man's friend insists, inhaling the last of his cigarette as he flick it out of his fingers and smooshes the embers underneath his foot. Noxious smoke plumes out of his nostrils as he and Tom prowl the street. "This place is cursed! I'm not making this shit up! There've been noises over here, man! These houses are haunted!"

_A little bit closer, boys… That's right…_

Smacking his friend Adam on the back of the head, Tom chuckles in amusement as he points up to some of the two story homes. "Are you afraid of a little dirt on the windows?" he mocks, waving his fingers around in a spooky manner while pretending to be a ghost. "Ooh…. I'm the ghost of leftover dust! I'm going to crawl into your nostrils at night and make you sneeze uncontrollably… You're just sleep-deprived, dude. Give it a few days and you'll be back on your feet. We're not at each other's throats anymore!"

"_Tch_… yeah, but not everyone feels that way…"

"Who, Joshua? That weird, little shit?" Tom remarks with skepticism as the pair of them walk right past our hiding spot; completely unaware as we slip through into the house on the left. Thank god that Emily flagged us down in time… "You've gotta be kidding me! He's a fucking coward hiding behind Tracy's skirt! I think even you could take him on with your bare hands!"

As Marcus prepares to shoot the both of them and be done with it, I carefully lower his aim and shake my head. There'll be other opportunities to make these bastards pay for what they've done – we need to do this when the time is right.

When the first of David's men break open the door, mentioning how we don't have a whole lot of time to spare, I walk in and sigh in relief. The remaining members of our group are all present and accounted for, but not without some injuries to boot.

"I was wondering if we'd ever see you again," Emily remarks with a laugh as she wraps her arms around my shoulders. "Jesus, you don't know how good it is to see you, Lilly," she mentions as Kelly and Elliot also come up to say hello. "But… where's Jane? Clem and Ellie, too?"

Reassuring them that they're fine (at least before I left), I move through the small crowd to a dusty couch where Alden's resting a very badly-injured ankle, and Kazuki is sporting a pretty nasty black eye. I'm not even sure if she can properly see at all now, what with the eye patch still plastered over her face.

"I think you caught us on a bad day," Alden remarks weakly; trying to crack a smile as I bend down to check on him. "Fuckers saw us out in the street so we all made a run for it. Racheal here managed to take one down but I tripped and sprained my ankle over a trash can… real graceful stuff, let me tell ya."

"I don't think I should be surprised at this point," I joke as I nod over towards Katie and Racheal; both looking like they'd rather be anywhere else than here. "I can't take all of you back just yet… I owe a favour to these two clowns over here."

As all eyes turn to the men waiting eagerly beside the front door, I expect the random assortment of disagreement and backlash that I receive as I run a hand through my hair.

"We need to get out of this fucking place! They outnumber us fifty to one at least!" Katie hisses quietly, drawing the curtain a little bit to peep out the window. Sure enough, as per usual apparently, there are more guards patrolling the streets for danger of any kind. "This place is deadly at every turn – the longer we stick around, the worse our odds are gonna be. Trying to take them all on at once is going to get us nowhere! We can't risk getting caught out in the open, Lilly!"

"Which is why not all of you are going with me right now," I point out, feeling a lot more respect and trust in some of the people around me since I've worked with many of them in the past. "I'd only need two or three at the most. We need to rescue some captives out here… because we need a connection over at Hunter's Retreat. If we don't even have the forces to defend the space centre, then what hope would we have if Tracy and the rest decide to march on us again? I need volunteers…"

Since Alden's obviously not fit to do the task, and Kazuki looks a little under the weather from her recent battle scars, I look to some of the older folks for reassurance; my gaze landing firstly on Elliot as he begrudgingly accepts. Kelly is next as she heads up the stairs to collect her weapons, and finally, with an extreme amount of hesitance, I ask Racheal to come along as she simply shrugs her shoulders in acceptance.

"Fine, let's go get killed looking for your doomed friends out there."

"They're alive, I know they are – just have a little faith," David's man says as Kelly comes bounding down the stairs two at a time.

Before Marcus can follow me outside, I put a firm hand on his shoulder and tell him to stay here.

"Pfft, fucking unlikely," Marcus chuckles, but his face contorts in surprise as I shake my head. "Come on – I'm not a damn mercenary for nothing, you know! You need me out there! Shooting people is what I do!"

"Yeah? Well prove it to me then," I order, not giving him any choice as I hand him that assault rifle he seems to care for so much. "Help protect this place, and I promise you a spot in the Fireflies, got it? Food, shelter and all the necessities you need once we head back to Houston."

"The fuck are the Fireflies?"

"Nevermind… just keep these people safe," I tell him without another word; looking in through the window as Marcus awkwardly tries to get acquainted with the remaining group members.

I'd imagine that Emily would kick him straight in the balls if he tries to swoon her or any of them in the house right now.

Keeping the soccer field on our right shoulder, we quickly backtrack and make our way through the battle-torn alleyways and streets of this once pretty neighbourhood; now filled with nothing but angry, blood-thirsty bandits and not a lot of working brain cells.

"They were over by the fire department last we saw them," one of our guides remark, "this way, and watch your step. They haven't cleared out the mess from last time just yet."

"Last time…?" I ask, but my curiosity is sated as we come face to face with hundreds of rotting, decaying bodies riddled with nothing but blood, guts, maggots and bullet holes. These people were slaughtered, whether through the fighting or being executed I don't rightly know. Some of them look as if they had turned at one point, but probably not for very long.

"Come on," Elliot encourages as I slowly nod and follow the rest of our party closer towards the fire hall.

* * *

"Should we go in loud and stupid, or quiet and smart?"

Lifting the hood of her sweater up over her hair so that it partly covers her eyes and conceals her identity, Racheal makes sure that her pistol is fully loaded and her survival knife (more like a kitchen utensil if you ask me) is tucked firmly away, yet still ready for use if the need arises. Much like Jane, years of surviving out in the world have proven to be pretty kind to her fitness-wise. Her stern demeanor hasn't really changed much since I've known her, which hasn't exactly won her a lot of friends, but she's proven herself as a fighter. That's the other reason I wanted her to tag along – she's gotten pretty decent at getting in and out of tight spots.

Deciding to lighten the mood, since only Elliot, Kelly, her and I remain with David's men going around the back side, I set myself up at the top of the hill as I flip my radio on. Kelly turns theirs on as well.

"Well, we all know how you like big entrances, Racheal," I sarcastically respond as she replaces her pistol with the knife. Solid choice for this kind of thing – I've got enough firepower from my spot up here.

"Stealthy it is, then," she remarks, nodding to Elliot and Kelly as she snatches the radio and attaches it to her belt. "Watch my back – I'm going down the hill."

"Be careful, alright? And remember, we can't be spotted out in the open. Head for the tall grass."

"On it, _boss_…" she mutters in slight annoyance, something that I pick up on almost immediately but decide to keep to myself. I don't want to talk through this too much and risk ruining the entire operation over a silly mistake like that.

Clutching his gun like a life preserver, Elliot kneels nearby as he breathes in and out in a rhythmic fashion. Closing his eyes, the man tries to calm his nerves before heading into the thick of things.

Wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders, Kelly smiles even though she too doesn't have a whole lot of confidence. "We'll keep an out for each other in there – don't worry, Lilly's got us covered. Right?"

"I didn't get the watch job back at our main base for nothing…" I remark quietly, wondering why the two of them haven't left yet as I look at Racheal moving through the grass like a snake. Thank god her clothes are pretty similar to her surroundings and not sticking out with pink or gold or something.

Trying to calm himself as one of Tracy's goons is spotted on the second floor of the fire department, Elliot readies up as he tries to remain inconspicuous.

"Really wishing that we'd stopped and picked up those ghillie suits now…" he regrets as I bark out a bitter laugh.

"Those weren't ghillie suits," I point out, wondering how he can't spot the difference, "they were winter coats with camouflage all over them! Now get going before Racheal gets compromised!"

"Still would've made things easier," Kelly mentions, thankfully realizing that I'm right as Elliot slowly makes his way down the hill. Time to get some people back. "Keep an eye out for me on the scope, would you? If you see any bad guys, take 'em out."

Adjusting the sights a little bit by turning the dial on my weapon, I usher her to get down as one of the men look onwards in the same window as before. With the wind on my side this time, and trying to judge the direction the bullet will travel, I pull the trigger as the man goes down; a bullet caught in his throat as Kelly sprints forward through the grass.

"Rachael, one man's down and there may be more inside," I whisper through the speaker as she gives me a thumbs up from the garage door. "Just find what the people they need and get out of there. We don't want the whole camp to come barreling down on top of us."

"_Moving in now. Nice to see you finally care, Lilly."_

"Just shut up and move. I'll ty to get a better angle," I order as I pick myself off the ground and take down a walker that had managed to waddle its way towards me. Looks as though this place isn't quite as pest-free as they had assumed.

Swatting a mosquito away from my face before it can suck out my blood like a vampire, I reload the weapon before maneuvering closer to the fenced-off portion of what was once a backyard. From this side, it seems that the previous owners once had a pretty decently-sized pool with lawn chairs, a gazebo and a nice, granite porch. It's odd why they would have a fire department so close to this neighbourhood, but from the sounds of it this town wasn't very large, so having one in the vicinity would certainly make the emergency response times a lot quicker.

Picking a shadier spot to protect me from the blaring sun, as well as to potentially hide me from view, I lay flat on my stomach as the dirt caresses my cheek. Pulling the trigger, I scare off a flock of birds as yet another man goes down.

Racheal finishes the job as she jabs her knife straight into the guy's head. Elliot rushes by as the abandoned, worn-looking fire truck as Kelly stands up; waving her arms around as she gives me the all-clear. Looks like they didn't figure anyone would come looking for a couple of stragglers from Hunter's Retreat, which obviously worked to our advantage on this one.

But something seems off as I rush down the hill and enter through the garage door – where _are _the captives? And where are David's remaining men?

"We never saw them come in," Elliot pants as he shakes his head. "And they're not upstairs either – no bodies except for the ones you shot down. If they're not here, then… holy shit…"

Pointing behind me, I turn around as I try to peer inside the fire truck, but I don't see anything until Elliot walks over and wipes the window clean of dirt.

Sitting in the front seats are the two hunters that went missing – one strangled to death with the fire hose tied in a knot around the back of the head rest, and the other having a hole blasted through his chest from the water pressure. By the burn marks on his wrists, I'd say that he was tied down and forced to try and endure this for quite some time. His clothes are still soaked to the bone even after his death.

In some sort of sick, ironic joke, Tracy's troops had put fire chief helmets onto their heads; basically telling them that they apparently _died like heroes._ More like they were _murdered _like heroes…

"…why?" Elliot questions quietly, disgusted with the state of affairs. "They couldn't have known these two… couldn't have had a real connection to them. Why would they be this cruel? To fucking _people _no less?"

"Elliot…"

"No, Kelly! I'm so sick of this shit! And don't even start with me, Racheal!" he glares sharply, looking at me as well as I keep my mouth shut. I know better than to try and calm Elliot down when he gets into one of his moods. "This… all of this is just so fucking meaningless! Why would people do this to each other?! Do they think this is all just some fucking game?! JUST LIKE NIKITA?!"

As the spirited young man tears himself away from the bodies for a brief moment, I toss one of the honorary firefighters out of the driver's seat as it plops to the ground in a sickening fashion. I never knew this man, but I sure as hell know that he wouldn't have deserved a death like this. I can't even imagine how much pressure it would take for a blast of water to literally puncture his body like a cannon ball.

Unable to wipe a thin layer of sticky blood off of the steering wheel, I try to search for any way that I could possibly hotwire the vehicle somehow. A firetruck would be pretty flashy for an escape attempt, but any method of transportation that could possibly fit all of us would be a welcome sight. It'd certainly make things easier on my legs.

My hope immediately dwindles for a nice, comfortable ride back to Hunter's Retreat when I notice that the cables I need under the wheel have already been slashed, and the fact that there aren't any sparks flying means that the battery's dead.

"Looks like she's had it," I comment as I step out of the truck and tiptoe around the dead body. "This place is a dud – come on, we need to find those two and get everyone back to safety. Let's spread out and find them."

"I'm going to bury these two… If we don't bring back our traditions, then how are we supposed to move forward?"

"Elliot, we don't have _time!_" I insist with a frown, not noticing that one of the men's fingers just gave out a twitch. "Look, I know that you're overwhelmed by all of this, but you have to snap out of it! These two are gone! Done! We have to move on!"

Coming to my side for once, Racheal seems to agree as she keeps an eye out through one of the windows. "We can't take the risk right now – if you want, just take them out back and drop 'em on the ground. I think we may have just woken up the sleeping giants over there."

Sure enough, up on the top of the hill where I was before stand about three more of the Rangers, most likely being more patrol guards that probably heard the gunfire from earlier. Had I have still been standing there for ten more minutes, they likely would've shot me without giving it a second thought.

Grunting, Elliot reluctantly mumbles under his breath as he refuses Kelly's help and insists that he can drag the bodies away himself. The guy's always been a bit stubborn with doing things on his own, having wanted to contribute to the group for as long as I've known him, but he's also had the tendency to shut people out from time to time. Nikita's death had hit him extremely brutally, and it's then that I finally start to clue in why he might be acting this way.

This is around the same time of year that she had been killed, and by these same people no less. No wonder the guy's feeling so adamant about these two strangers.

Kicking the emergency exit open and stepping outside, he drags the corpse along as the rest of us try to search for where the other hunters may have wandered off to.

* * *

_**Jane's POV **_

"W-what do you mean? We're safe here! David… he protects us… he _loves _us!" one of the elders try to tell me as I sit cross-legged in a circle of about fifteen others who have gathered to hear what an outsider like me has to say. A round of nods follows their protest as I find this task to be much more difficult than I had once believed it would be.

How the fuck does Clementine do this shit all day long?!

Trying a different approach rather than full-on bashing the leader they've known for years, I gulp as those darn, meddling kids come up to sit right in front of me. What are they expecting here? Story time?

"You need to think for yourselves right now. What's really the best for you and your families?" I ask, finding the whole _inspirational speech _thing to be a bit ridiculous when it's coming from me. "You don't wanna be stuck in a sewer like this for the rest of your lives, do you?"

"But… but David said that this is our home! This place is where we belong now!" one of the kids exclaim as I raise an eyebrow in confusion. Did he honestly feed these people with the lies that he kept telling himself?

Not allowing any of the little girls to sit on my knee as they scurry on back to their parents, I watch as most of the camp just strolls by and carry on with their feeble living conditions. It's like we've all gone back to the medieval ages, with one father trying to clean his family's clothes over a makeshift wash board, and some of the kids looking as though they've developed cases of the smallpox and various other diseases – the Black Plague, it almost looks like down here.

"It's good to be afraid," I point out, contradicting myself until I explain further. "Fear keeps you on your toes and makes you aware of your surroundings. But you don't have to be scared of your own shadow! Sure, there may be walkers out there, but you don't have to live in a box the whole time and just constantly be afraid of stepping into the sunshine! Nobody can force you to live like this, not anymore!"

"…how do we know we can trust you?" a middle-aged, scared shitless man asks me with a shaky finger pointing my way. "How… how do we know that you're not lying and trying to send us out there to die? How do we know that what you're telling us is true?"

Internally chuckling at how it somehow always comes back to this, I smirk slightly before shrugging my shoulders and admitting my reassurance to everyone.

"You don't – you have no idea if you can trust me or not," I tell them like a cold slap in the face. It's time to wake these people up out of their nightmare! "No matter what I tell you guys, it won't make a difference. You just… you just have to get out there and see the truth for yourselves. Don't let David keep you caged up anymore. In fact…" I remark, feeling unusually chipper about this whole encounter with the local inhabitants, "come with me. I'll show you what you're missing out on."

Even though not all of the people stand up and start to follow me, a pretty decent portion of them do as Clementine, Ellie and David finish their little tour of sorts. David, for his part, looks outraged at the display I've put on, and immediately charges down the stairs like a rhino as Clementine nods in approval.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he demands as I fold my arms together; a dangerous glint in his eyes as he stares me down. No way am I losing this fight, not with the people at my back. "You're _way _out of line here, Jane! I won't stand for this, and neither will our people!"

"I'm showing them that there's more to life than this shit!" I yell as more of the people from Hunter's Retreat seem to gather to our cause. This is going better than I had hoped! "I've been asking around, _David_, and what you've done to these people is disgusting. Four different women have claimed that you sexually assaulted them, kids have gone missing from this place before without you even bothering to send out a search party, and you've let these people sit here to rot and die for over two years!"

Glaring daggers at Clementine as she stands firm, David visibly starts to panic a little bit as he sees the possibility of his fucked up community falling around him. This jackass has been living off of these people's misery! While he gets the high life up in the nicer areas of the metro, with a big group of hunters protecting him and a group of people so whipped that they won't even open their eyes, David's gotten all the protection he's needed from the outside.

"You… _you _put them up to this!" David accuses, yet this time he's guessed correctly. "I should've fucking slammed the doors on you lot the second that I laid eyes on you! You're nothing but an upstart little punk with a chip on your shoulder, Clementine! You know nothing of the world or how it truly works yet! I've kept these people _alive_, and where's your group now, huh?! Where's Clementine's little army at?!"

Pointing to us down below, Clementine wears the cockiest grin I've ever seen as everyone in Hunter's Retreat come to see all the commotion. Even the ones on the upper floor are staring at us; looking concerned and groggy as if they've just woken up from a years-long nap.

"If that's the case, then why am I still standing with you right now? Why not just shoot me and show these people what you really are?" she demands as all eyes point towards him. "I'll tell you why you won't do that – because we outnumber you. You've screwed these people over long enough, and now it's time for you to step down. Get out, pack your things and leave. Nobody's going to fall for this bullshit again."

"…don't test me here, girl… You don't know who it is you're dealing with right now…" he snarls lowly as he shoves her to the ground roughly. Feeling another life or death situation coming on, I spring into action but have to make my way through a sea of people in order to make my way up the stairs. I've practically knocked over five different adults as I've moved, but by the time that I finally make my way up, I'm too late.

David's snatched Ellie up in his grip and has sprinted out the doorway with her in tow; Clementine hot on his heels as she screams bloody murder.


	23. Not our call

_AN: Just so you know, this chapter's going to be rated M for a reason. It turns very dark at one point, so… yeah. You've been warned. But maybe it'll bring you guys at least a little bit of peace of mind by the end, we'll see. Hope you enjoy this anyways!_

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

"Oh no… oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Kelly rambles on, biting her fingernails at the oncoming slaughter fest that's about to take place if we don't take the upper hand while we still have it. Those few patrol guards seemed to have just been the front of the pack, as there are literally at least two dozen men and women parading about up there. "We're so dead if we stay up here… Lilly, we've gotta do something quickly! Any ideas?!"

Ok, I'll be honest – I'm freaking out right now. I'd be fucking stupid if I wasn't at least a little bit afraid of these people, unless of course I didn't give two shits about my life any longer. However, that's far from the case, so instantly I look down at the various bodies scattered about the floor.

Maybe Elliot had it right the whole time.

Getting the other two women to help, as a team we drag two of the Rangers and drop them onto the floor of the fire truck, and basically chuck the third one from the second level out the back window. For a fire department, this place is a pretty shitty hazard, as most of the walls haven't been properly furbished and consist of dry, volatile wood. If the fire department can't keep its own building from burning down, then what would that have said about the rest of the town?

Pushing that thought aside, I try to sneakily keep one eye out the window facing the Rangers while also trying to remain completely hidden. Not such an easy task, but Racheal seems to be getting the hang of it.

Kelly, on the other hand...

"Psst! Elliot, you moron! Get up here!" she whispers as she tries to get the guy's attention, but he's so caught up in what he's doing that he doesn't even notice. We're caught between a rock and a hard place on this one – we can't yell out for him without drawing attention from the Rangers, and yet we can't even get Elliot to turn around without yelling.

"_I'm telling you, I heard something down there!" _one of them insist as the rest of the group simply laughs at him. Little does he know that he's hit the nail right on the head. _"Sure, laugh it up! But my next meal says that there's something fishy going down there, and you jack asses are heading down there with me!"_

"_Fine, if it'll shut your fucking mouth about it, then let's go check out this place. Be prepared to be terribly disappointed!"_

Oh. Shit.

"Kelly, you need to get him up here _now!_" I hiss, now really wishing that we had been able to shut the garage door downstairs. "Or just… I don't know, get him away from here! Anything, just get Elliot to move!"

"You don't think I'm trying here?!"

"Well try harder! If he attracts their attention, we're all dead!" Racheal whispers, putting a finger to her lips as the first man gets halfway down the hill along with eight others. Thankfully, it seems that the majority of them have gone back after their apparent false alarm. "Hey… we might be able to take them from here…"

Judging the situation myself, I instantly shake my head but ready my pistol just in case. Nothing would please me more than to gun down every one of these wastes of oxygen for all the pain and suffering that Tracy and Joshua have caused, but then I remember that not all of them were likely here because they want to be. Assuming David was telling the truth, I'd suspect that most of them either have nowhere else to go or would feel threatened by their new group members if they were to leave this place.

"Can't risk it," I muse as she gives me an icy glare. "We'll just wait it out – let them come to us. We've got the element of sur-"

_BAM!_

"Agh! God damn it!" Elliot backs up, having just shot the undead man in the face after realizing that he had come back to life. The transformation had taken a lot longer than it usually does, but that's not the problem.

The real cause for concern is that they probably could hear that gunshot coming from a mile away.

Rushing straight over to Kelly and putting a hand over her mouth as I try to tear her away from the window, she struggles to get away from me and somehow magically save her friend from harm. But it's no use this time – Elliot's dug himself an early grave as he turns around to the faces of nine different Rangers, all with their guns pointed directly at him.

With tears stinging her eyes, Kelly stays limp in my arms as Racheal tries not to let this get to her. The only possible way we could save him is by firing our guns when their backs are turned, but not only do they have him completely surrounded, but any gunfire from us will just increase the shooting from them.

"I'm sorry…" I whisper, whether to Elliot or to Kelly and Racheal I'm not too sure.

Wanting to prolong his life for a little bit longer, Elliot practically trips over the dead carcass as he holds his hands up in surrender. "Why?" he questions them simply, seeming to realize that this could very well be the end of his days. "That's all I want to know – why would you murder these men like this? What did they ever do to you to deserve this? Just tell me… I want to know."

Getting two bullets straight to the leg as he crumbles to the ground, one of the Rangers walks over towards Elliot before kicking him roughly in the ribs a couple of times. Crimson blood hangs loosely out the side of his mouth as he lays on his side in the dirt, hanging on by a thread as the man whispers something in his ear.

Thrashing about at whatever answer he was given, Elliot struggles through gritted teeth to crawl away to safety, but the same Ranger shoots both of his hands and stops him in his tracks.

"What do you say we give this kid a proper send-off?" he asks as Kelly breaks free from my grasp and clutches onto her pistol; desperate to save him as she shoots the first guy right in the back. Figuring that our cover is truly fucked now, I audibly groan as a barrage of gunfire smashes through the back window and out through the wooden walls of the fire department.

Sawdust kicks up in the air as wood chips are sent flying towards us, but somehow Racheal and Kelly manage to kill three of the Rangers as I send two more to an early grave. The other two have disappeared from my sight as the shooting suddenly stops and Elliot is left unmoving outside.

"Where'd they go?!" I ask as Racheal prepares to reload her weapon, not knowing what could've possibly happened as Kelly looks on, completely heartbroken as Elliot gasps for air.

Suddenly hearing footsteps charging in on the lower level of the fire department, I quickly get set up near the stair case in anticipation for whatever's coming. The remaining guys have gotta be downstairs, but with my gun held out in front of me and my trigger finger primed and ready to rain death, there's no way that they're coming out of this alive.

An idea comes to my head as I notice just what we have up here at our disposal – namely what's sitting in a red box protected by a plastic case that's sealing it for emergencies only.

"Get me that fire axe…" I whisper to Racheal as she glances behind with confusion.

"What the hell are you gonna do with that?"

"Just give it here."

Consenting even though she's still unsure of what I plan on using the thing for, she uses the little cracking device attached to the box in order to break through and clutch the axe within her hands. Quickly tossing it over to me, I tiptoe my way into a position that's right above the staircase – that way neither of our enemies down below will be able to spot me lunging at them until it's far too late.

Racheal goes back to covering the windows as I raise the weapon above my head. This thing's heavy as shit, but it'd be a lot more practical than trying to maneuver that ladder off the wall and whack the bad guys in the head with that. Why waste a bullet when you can get the jump on them from right here?

_Thump…thump…_

The floorboards creak under their weight as somebody slowly climbs up the stairs, so I adjust my body to be in a more suitable position. As soon as I see the back of a man's head turning in every which direction except for mine, I bring the axe down with a mighty crack as it lodges itself into his skull. The effect is almost immediate.

Bits of the guy's brain can be seen inside of the head wound as I nearly crack the guy's head in two; having to drop the weapon as the guy falls dead on the wooden stairs.

Kelly nearly snipes David's men as they scurry inside after seemingly disappearing, but no apologies are made as she sprints past them and heads out the back to her extremely injured friend. The disgruntled hunters manage to find the last remaining Ranger who is begging for his life as he gets on his hands and knees, but they can find no mercy in their hearts, not after finding the two they were searching for murdered so brutally.

I turn my head as Damien pulls a knife out and slits his throat; sending a line of blood to get sprayed against the wall as the man gargles over his last breaths. Justice or not, that isn't how we should be doing things – a bullet to the head would've been a lot more acceptable in this instance. We're not murderers, not anymore.

There's nothing left for me to do in the fire station, since it seems that our two _allies _are busy cleaning up the mess that we left behind, so I follow Racheal out the back as the both of us come face to face with the grizzly scene. At the bottom of the muddy hill outside lays a sprawled out Elliot, whose blood is quickly leaking to the ground in a small puddle as his face starts to turn a deathly white colour and his eyes become less focused as the seconds go by. Kelly doesn't want to believe that this is happening, and even the stone-cold Racheal looks broken up over this, but deep down we all know what's coming.

"..L-L-Lil…" the boy croaks out; his mouth stained crimson as blood starts to collect and fall to the side of his face. "You… you have to k…kill them all… They're not even human anymore… They're… fucking… animals…"

Knowing that Kelly won't be able to do it, and not wanting Racheal to have to go through this sort of trauma right now, I nod mournfully towards Elliot as he leans his head back and prepares for the bitter end.

"I'm so sorry…" I apologize in advance, taking one last look at our armory tenant before clutching my pistol and pulling the trigger.

* * *

_**James' POV **_

Sitting at the head of the board room table, hands folded and resting underneath my chin, I study Scott's distraught face as he rubs his eyes furiously. The guy's clearly broken up over the whole affair, and no amount of our questioning is really going to grant us any further results at the moment.

After all, it's not as if there were any other witnesses to call upon – they both got killed this evening.

"I think that's enough for now, Scott. You can go," I inform him while trying to be at least a little bit respectful and sympathetic. This is a delicate situation that needs to be handled with the utmost amount of care.

Glancing back up at me with bloodshot eyes, Scott seems confused as he sniffles and wipes his nose with the back of his sleeve. "R-really?" he asks me in puzzlement. "But… but have you come to a consensus? Do you trust me now at least?"

"I think we should all get a good night's rest for right now," I purposely dodge the question as Bo helps the boy to his feet. "How's about we sleep on everything and figure out how to proceed in the morning, alright? Go on, we'll talk more tomorrow."

"But you didn't answer my – "

"_Good night_, Scott."

Sensing that I'm not in the mood to discuss things further with him at the moment, Scott sorrowfully trudges out of the board room with his shoulders slumped and his face bearing a solemn expression. This whole entire thing tonight has been one miserable disaster after another, with none of it being a pretty sight to behold. If society was still intact, Scott over there would probably be facing a number of charges for the deed as well as facing a long time behind bars.

But times have changed – methods of doing things have, too.

"So what do you think? Was he telling the truth?" Bo asks me once the door is closed and Scott has walked down the long, dark hallway.

Feeling torn on whether or not to believe the guy or to trust anything that comes spewing out of his mouth at this point, I reluctantly nod as I sigh and rub my hands tiredly over my face. What a long night it's been…

"…Luna was a drunken psychopath," I admit, having realized this in full once dinner rolled around. "Doesn't change the fact that he murdered her on our grounds."

"He calls it justice."

"And I call it an entire pistol clip in the face. He could've stopped at one, Bo – when he killed her, it was out of passion. He _wanted _her dead," I explain, digging through our notes that we had collected after going over the crime scene with a fine-tooth comb. Jake had turned on the concrete down below where he fell, but the guy's body had been crushed so badly that Bo barely even had to move out of the way. One pistol round to the forehead, and he could finally rest in peace.

Luna, on the other hand…

She didn't turn. There was absolutely no chance that she was coming back to life, whether it be through us trying to save her or her reanimating into a walker. Either way, the girl was gone for good, but the result was disturbing to look at. Luna didn't even have a face left after Scott was through with shooting her, as it looked more like a bloody pile of carnage and gore. The weird thing is that even after having taken such a vicious assault, she was still sitting upright against the edge of the roof – almost as if it was one final "fuck you" and that no matter what Scott had done, in the end she was still going to relax and live to her life's content.

But what the hell are we gonna do now? Aside from the obvious tragedy of losing two of our own in such a needless struggle, we now have no mechanic _and _no helicopter pilot. Sure, we may have plenty of armed women and men (assuming that they actually get back here at some point), but having those two was really a stroke of luck. It doesn't get much more fortunate than being able to have working vehicles and people with the knowhow to operate them.

Now those opportunities have been totally erased, and we've basically been grounded. What the hell are we going to do with a downed helicopter?

"And what about you?"

Suspicion raised and face scrunched up in confusion, I stop reading through our notes and glance over at Bo; standing there with a slightly accusing tone in his voice. "What about me?" I moodily respond back to him.

Using his only remaining hand to pull out a chair and sit himself down, Bo looks pointedly over at me as if I should know exactly what he's insinuating. "Scott told us that she had gotten so drunk that Luna could barely tell left from right, let alone control her rage," he reminds me as I stubbornly frown. "You knew she had a drinking problem, James. You knew, and yet you let her get overly intoxicated anyways. That shit's on you just as much as anyone."

"And what of _you_, Bo?!" I lash out, not keen on taking all of the blame upon myself for a crime I didn't commit. "Where were you when we were all supposed to be having a nice, sit-down dinner for once in our fucking lives?! Off gallivanting and eavesdropping on our conversation? If you had just opened the damn door and sat all three of your asses down, then _maybe _her friends could've stopped her, and _maybe _two of them would still be alive!"

Noticing that I've unintentionally stood up and loomed over the desk like a vulture waiting for its prey, I try to shake these frustrations off and let out some steam by slowly walking around the board room. God damn it… I thought I was past this kind of thing! I thought that the emotional tirades were long behind me and that there wouldn't be any more outbursts like this! I can't be losing my touch _already_! Bo and I are friends… we can't turn on each other now. Not when there's still so much work to be done…

Stopping in front of an old photo of the space centre that must've been taken some twenty-odd years ago, I breathe out through my nose and try to remember the good old days. That's the ultimate goal, you know – just to get an opportunity to start all over with what we've got left. It's what we have to strive towards in order to keep positive about all of the shit we've been dealt over the years. Too many friends have been lost; too many loved ones ripped right from our grasps.

"…either way, no matter what our inactions may have been," Bo starts up again after about a minute or so of looming silence, "Scott's the one who pulled the trigger."

Wiping a thumb to remove the dust off of my darling Heather's face in the portrait, I nod my head without even turning around to face him just yet. "Indeed he did."

"So what do we do about it?"

This is going to be the tricky part of the equation. Under normal circumstances, I'd probably say that we simply do the usual thing and strap him to the chair before knocking him out with a blunt object; leaving him in a vegetable-like state when we poke around inside his brain.

But how well do you think that would go over with everyone else? What if they were to arrive in the morning and find out that Jake, Luna _and _Scott have all died while they were away? It'd look mighty suspicious, that's for sure, not to mention that we'd probably end up having to make an excuse that very few people would buy.

And if word ever got out from Clementine, it might be game over for us. Why she hasn't mentioned anything still shocks me deeply, but not once since she was twelve years old have we had to step in and keep the girl in check.

Making my decision, feeling conflicted because of my positive and negative feelings about Scott, I close my eyes and take a step back from the wall.

"…we wait."

"Seriously?"

"Yes," I confirm, turning back towards my friend with a lack of confidence. "We're going to have to let the group decide on Scott's fate – it can't just be up to the two of us anymore. When everyone gets back, we'll set up a meeting and tally the votes to see what the verdict should be."

Playing with a loose string hanging off of his jacket while contemplating the decision, Bo shrugs as he yanks the piece clean off. "The best case scenario I can see for the guy is that he gets to pack his bags and leave with his head still on his shoulders. You do realize that the group won't take this sort of thing lightly, don't you?"

Nodding as I realize that he's probably correct, the little counselling session is dismissed as the both of us retire for the night; with me taking one last look inside before shutting the door closed and locking it with the key.

I've got a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

That… son of a… bitch…

How DARE he try and pull this shit on us! That weird old man had been keeping his eye on my girl the entire time that we were at this shitty excuse of a camp, and it was only a matter of time before he'd try to sneak her away from me! Well not today, _David_! If I have my way, then you aren't going to have a head to breathe out of soon enough!

If that creep harms her in any way, shape or form… he'd better watch out, because all hell's breaking loose tonight.

Just hold on, Ellie – I'm coming for ya.

For a self-proclaimed hunter, David really isn't that difficult to track down with all the racket he's making up ahead. His rushed footsteps echo down the hallway and bounce off of the various pipes that line the walls; steam still trapped in many of them as their whistles make this place sound more like an old train station. Without a whole lot of light to guide me through the long, dark tunnels, I have to resort to using my ears and hoping that I don't accidentally run into a wall or something.

Time to go full-on Batman, I guess. Hopefully those comics I had tried to read beforehand have taught me a thing or two.

"Oww! You're hurting my wrist!"Ellie whimpers somewhere up ahead as I force myself to move more quickly. My pistol's locked in between my hands, but unless I have a clear, exact opening on him, there's no way that I'm going to risk shooting David – not with Ellie still in his possession. "Stop it! Where are we going?! Where are you taking me?!"

"To start a new life… somewhere that you'll be safe,"David responds, and deep down I know that it's him, but right now all I can think of is the time where I was in a similar situation as the one she is in right now.

In one single moment of naivety and stupidity, I was lead like a dog on a leash over to one of the most sickening, disgusting human beings that I've ever met in my entire life.

_Quiet please, sweetie!_

_You're a monster… and I'm gonna hurt you so bad…_

_You're gonna like Clementine a lot though! She's not Lizzie but she's sweet – she wouldn't hurt a fly._

"No… not again…" I shake my head in complete anger as I bitterly wipe away tears from my eyes. I can see the stranger's face painted on the walls as I run further away; trying to drown out his emotionless voice by keeping my gaze straight ahead and fighting back against my inner demons. "You're not real… you can't control me…"

"_What makes you so sure about that, Clementine?" _he mocks me with a sinister laugh as I can practically feel his imaginary hot breath creeping down my neck. _"You know that we haven't left – none of us. I'm your father now, Clementine… and deep down you know it's true. I protected you more than anyone else out there. I would've always been there for you… I'm the one who kept you safe."_

Smacking myself in the side of the head a number of times and screeching for him to leave me alone as I shoot out at one of the pipes, the stranger cackles like a maniac as the hiss of steam makes him appear even more ghostly and pale. Frightened sweat starts to form on my forehead as I dart about left and right; trying to find out where David could've possibly taken my little friend.

Oh god… what if they're gone?! What if he's already taken her?!

"Leave me alone! CLEM! CLEMENTINE, HELP M-"

"Shut up, you little runt! We're leaving that bitch behind, now keep moving!"

Hitting the jackpot as I pinpoint the direction they're heading towards, I bank a left down the tunnel as I head into this old sewage treatment plant and try to look around at all the open space. There's drainage water still dripping in like a waterfall as the overfilled sewage tunnels remain as dirty as the water was when it came down in the first place, and the roar of it all drowns out the other sounds from reaching my eardrums.

"ELLIE?!" I call out into the darkness as I raise my weapon in front of me; eyes scanning the area for a struggle as my breathing grows raspier. "Where are you?! David, I won't kill you if you just hand her over nice and slow! There doesn't have to be any violence between us! You can just…"

Getting cut off as a sharp, bruising pain erupts in my shin, I fall to the floor and try crawling away to safety. However, David is much too fast for me as he kicks me hard in the ribs and flips me over to my front.

Too bad for him that he didn't notice the gun in my hands.

Firing off a round that hits him right in the thigh, David gets severely winded as he too darts to the ground in pain. Kicks and punches are thrown between the two of us violently as we try to pin each other down, and just as I'm about to get another shot off on the crazed lunatic, he bats the gun out of my hand with a rusted metal pole that he used to hit me with in the first place; accidentally letting it go as it rolls away out of his reach.

"Couldn't just leave well enough alone, could ya?!" David snaps as he lands a punch right near my cheek bone and cracks his fists down on me again and again. I knee him in the groin as he grunts in pain, but David has me seeing stars as he smacks me roughly across the face like a bat out of hell. "You think you know me, Clementine?! Huh?!"

I try to claw at his eyes so that I can actually get some sort of opening on the man, but the fact of the matter is that even with near starvation, David's got almost double my weight going for him as well as physical strength. My attempts to get him off are negligible as his hands grasp around my neck in a vice grip.

His eyes are hungrily looking me up and down as he gets a wicked glint that's freaking me out. With all of my senses going off like crazy as I struggle to breathe and my heartbeat goes into overdrive, I try to fight back as much as I can whilst still keeping myself together.

A slight bulge in his jeans causes me to go into a complete snit.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of…" he taunts as his sick, pleasurable fantasy starts to come to fruition; using one hand to try and choke me out while the other reaches down below. Whimpering as flashes of despair cloud my vision, I try begging him to stop, but my voice is caught in my throat as the air disappears within me. "But you, my little Clementine… you're definitely about to find out…"

Licking his lips, David slowly starts to unzip my leather jacket as my eyes start becoming heavier and heavier. I'm not entirely sure what he's planning on doing with me right now, but I can get a pretty clear sense that it's not going to be good. It fucking terrifies me, if I'm being honest – if he wanted me dead so badly, then why wouldn't he just pick up my damn gun and end it?! Why does he have to torture his victims like this?!

"You have no idea how long it's been…" David murmurs darkly as my jacket is completely undone and his cold, dirty hands brush up against my collarbone. "I know that you want this just as much as I do… I'll fuck you bloody and take off with the kid so that I can start a new family. How would you like that… sweet pea?"

_Just hang on, Clementine! _Lee urgently yells in my ear as I start to lose consciousness. _Fight him! You have to fight back! Don't let him take advantage!_

When all hope seems lost, and David appears to have subdued me without a shadow of a doubt, that's when my little angel comes to the rescue. Getting an immediate reaction, Ellie swings the pole that had fallen away right at David's face; incapacitating him as he clutches onto his forehead while she swings at him again and again.

"ARGH! WHY YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Although just a kid, Ellie's got enough of a motive and the intensity to keep smashing the pole at David until he finally collapses nearby. I gasp for air as the life returns to me after all of my lights had gone out, but I can't force myself to move just yet.

Clutching onto my throat, I watch in horror as I watch Ellie start to just absolutely destroy this vile waste of space, and my heart suddenly drops to my stomach. As much as I hate the guy for what he was trying to do, I care much more about Ellie's wellbeing.

And how is viciously beating a man to death going to help her already-shattering mental state? I don't… I don't want this to become another…

_I only need a minute…_

_You won't see anything…_

_Go on… you don't need to see this…_

_Yeah, go on! Let the sheep out of the pen! We'll see how long that lasts! _

_Fucking big man now, huh?! _

_I know what you are, Clementine! I can see it! ANYONE can see it!_

"Ellie…!" I croak out as her hits become slower and more on his arms than anything else. Crawling my way towards her, I put a hand on her ankle in an effort to try and stop the assault. "ELLIE! STOP IT!"

Sobbing uncontrollably as I wrap my arms around her waist and rock her back and forth, Ellie apologizes over and over again as David lays on the floor with massive welts, bruises and beatings scattered about his body. I won't let anger and violence consume this kid like it has to so many others before her.

That's not who Ellie is. That's not what I or anyone else would want her to turn into.

"I'm sorry…" she mumbles into my shirt as I trace my fingers through her fiery-red hair. Soon after I notice that Jane has finally managed to track us down and slowly walk towards us, but I'm too busy comforting Ellie to pay her much mind right now. "B-but he… he tried to…"

"Oh baby girl…" I whisper, finding myself calling her that to not be as weird and awkward as it sounded in my head. If I haven't become a big sister to her at this point, then the next closest thing would probably be within the realms of a guardian – sort of like what Lee was to me. "It's okay… it's okay… We're gonna get you out of here… and gather everyone else up, alright?"

Once she has finally settled down a little bit and is able to stand to full height, I turn towards Jane with an emotionally and physically exhausted look. There's just been too much shit going wrong today, and I don't know where to begin with how mortified I feel right now. David wanted to… I can't even say the word right now. It's too disgusting to even think about.

What kind of repugnant person would try to do something like this?

"Just give the word…" Jane remarks, holding my gun at her side as she stands right in front of David's unmoving body. Somehow he's still breathing after the vicious beat-down that Ellie had just given him, but who knows what kind of internal damage may have been inflicted within him. David might die in a month, a year, or maybe even a week. Maybe he'll even live without any repercussions, and as much as I'd like to pick the gun up myself and just finish the job… at the end of the day it's not my decision.

It's the people that he _really _screwed over who should have the say – the ones who've been living here at Hunter's Retreat without any notion of the squalor that they were forced to live in. They're the people who should be the judges, not us.

However, when we all hear the shuffling of about twenty or so of the inhabitants piling in from behind us, all of them just wanting this nightmare to finally be over, I get the feeling that they've all made their decision. Pointing their thumbs down and glaring at the man who at one point they considered their hero of all things, I turn towards Jane and nod.

Pulling the trigger, Jane executes David without even giving it a second thought, while unbeknownst to us, in the distance a fire has started to rage over at Ranger's Grove.

Although, it's not the kind of fire that any of us are about to expect.

* * *

_AN: So… that happened. Sorry about killing off some of the OCs, but hey – it's not exactly the Walking Dead without some deaths thrown in for good measure, right? And these have already started to impact the story, so hopefully you guys aren't too angry :3 _

_Just know that nobody in this story is truly safe! Have an awesome day!_


	24. A daily dose of chaos

_**Jane's POV **_

"But… but this is the only place we've really ever known! Most of us have raised families over here at some point!"

"It's not safe around here," I disagree as a couple of the less squeamish souls get to shoving Dave's lifeless body over the railing and into the water treatment sewers down below, where he'll most likely rot until something hungry comes along. Although, I doubt that even the walkers would want to touch something as nasty as that bastard. "Look, you do what you want, but I'm just telling you how it is. Where did you get your food from in the first place?"

Mulling it over for a few seconds, the older married couple sheepishly look towards each other before pointing over to David as he's finally tossed into the murky water below. Good riddance.

It turns out that the food that they were getting from David really was only the bare minimum. He'd have most of his hunters go out on scavenging runs, bring back the occasional deer or rabbit out from the wilderness, and hand off the expired food cans over to the hungry survivors that they had _sworn to protect_. When the situation had gotten most dire, people were actually trying to eat leftover dog and cat food just so that they could have a few more weeks to live if they were lucky. Most of the time, they weren't.

Sporting a knowing look on my face, I'm about to explain to them how staying here would be a huge mistake, but my voice is snuffed out when I spot Clementine off standing by herself; looking out a dirty window while Ellie sits on the bench and tries to keep it together. Some of the other kids have come to her side and have been keeping her occupied for the most part, but Clem's just standing there like a statue – watching. It's almost as if she's the only one in the room anymore.

If only I had been a little bit faster… maybe then she wouldn't have gotten messed up so badly…

"Jane?" the elderly couple ask me, trying to draw my attention back to them. I give them a little less than half of it. "What do you suggest we do then? If we can't stay here, then where else would we go?"

"…how are you doing on transportation?" I question, turning back towards them while still managing to keep a sharp eye on the fifteen year old. "Going out on foot with nothing to protect yourselves with is a dumb idea. Do you have any cars?"

"Well… David always kept a truck out back, but he never let any of us use it or come even close to it. Must've figured we'd break something or try to take off," the elderly lady replies as I remember that her name is Edna. Edna and Joe, that's who they are. Based off of appearances alone, you'd think that the two of them were just a frail, old couple who'd need all the help and support that we could muster, but if anything, they're more capable than a bunch of the others around here.

Still though, considering just how piss-poor the conditions have been in this metro, that's really not saying much.

"One of our people used to be a mechanic back in the day, so he could probably have it up and running in a jiffy. But…" Joe trails off, suddenly acting very anxious and concerned as more of the people start piling in.

Puzzled, I tilt my head to the side in anticipation. "But… what?"

"…you've seen us at our _best_ – yes, our very best. Y'all came in on a good day if anything," he whispers so that the other residents can't overhear our conversation. "The cocaine that some of 'em think they're smoking up? It's scented chalk dust, nothing more. It's one of them placebo effects, you know? Making them think that they're getting an effect so that they can deal with all that we've been going through," he tells me as I start to fit the pieces together. That actually makes a lot more sense, seeing's how that amount of drug into their system probably would've caused those men and women to have heart attacks by now. They were literally inhaling fumes for hours on end. "How long would they be able to last out there? You said so yourself that the world outside is a dangerous place, and they're hardly able to move…"

Watching as Edna clutches softly onto her husband's wrinkly hand, smiling at each other with loving gazes, I realize that I'll have to try and suggest something pretty terrible, but not exactly out of my element. I had adopted an attitude of "survival of the fittest" for quite some time before spending the last few years with Clem and Lilly, but that sentiment sort of dissipated after a while. Under normal conditions, I'd say that we'd need to fit as many people on whatever trucks they can find and send them on their way to someplace secure, but having a bunch of stoned drug addicts who've become so addicted to chalk dust that they can barely stand is just going to slow them down. That's a risk that they can't take, not when they're out on the open road.

"You should take those that can move and function properly along with you. We'll head out back, clear out any walkers around, and get you and your people onto the trucks," I suggest before sighing deeply. This should be fun. "Anybody who can't move around… they have to get left behind."

"_What?!_"

"The only way you're going to live is if you get rid of the excess baggage," I illustrate, knowing fully well that heavy drug addicts won't be able to receive the same amount of help that they would in a normal, everyday society. We simply don't have the resources to help them anymore. "Sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Cut off your loose ends and let them stay here – they can live out their days smoking up downstairs," I give them a snarky statement; trying to play it off as uncaring and emotionless as possible. I can't allow myself to care about these people too much, and simply try to give them a chance to start over and rebuild what they have.

That's what our group has to be about: second chances, along with giving people the opportunity to survive.

"Just… talk it over with your group some more. It's not an easy thing to swallow, I know," I continue, trying to sound a little less bitter than before. My gaze softens as it lands on Clementine once again, so I decide to break off the contact for now and check in. Joe and Edna nervously look over at their people, as if they're mentally preparing for whether or not they want to make the difficult choice of who stays and who goes.

Most of the kids that I pass by either ignore me or try to shy away, which I consider a blessing at this point in the ball game. I really don't feel like talking to anyone right now except for either Ellie or Clem, and right now, the latter only seems to be available for consoling.

With her fingers firmly grazing against the stone wall, Clementine stares blankly out the window; watching with troubled eyes as the smoke billows higher and higher across the field. Something sinister is happening over there, and our friends are all getting caught right in the middle of it.

More importantly to me anyways, _Lilly's _caught in the middle of all of it. That thought scares me more than anything else.

"Wanna talk?"

When Clem doesn't even budge an inch, acting as if I'm not even here, I realize just how shaken up the kid really is about all of this. Whatever David had said or done to her must have been pretty traumatic for her to clam up so tightly, as this usually only happens when the situation truly becomes desperate. Lilly had told me before about something like this happening way back when we were at the prison; saying how scared and hurt Clem looked when they had found each other.

"…I know what he wanted," she finally opens up as I'm about to make my exit. "He literally told me what it was, but I had figured it out before then. It didn't take a genius to know what David was trying to do. I could see it all over his face."

"Clem…"

Not stopping herself there, Clementine continues to reveal just what a sick fucker David turned out to be in his final moments, with my hatred of the asshole growing ever stronger. I can do nothing but listen as she vents about every single excruciating detail – from the way he licked his chapped lips, to the calloused hands that he had tightly wrapped around her neck, to the vulgar and demented things that he had said to her. Without missing a beat, she explains how close to death she had felt she was going, and how she had almost wished that he had just snapped her neck and been done with it; all just so that she could escape the trauma of it all.

Curiously enough though, she's actually not that visibly upset right now. It's almost as if she's become an entirely different person; putting on a stone-cold mask and not letting any kind of emotion come through. I can barely make heads or tails of what she's really going through, and the troubling part is that she's saying all of this as if it's just some average, run of the mill thing that she's gone through.

Death and killing is one thing, but potential sexual assault and rape is another matter entirely. That shit can destroy a person both mentally and physically.

"He wanted to hurt me so badly on that floor… but I still couldn't let Ellie kill him like that," she tells me; her eyes conveying the message almost perfectly as I understand where she's coming from. Once you let the anger and rage take control, there's almost nothing that can truly bring you back from it. "I'm supposed to be taking care of her, Jane. And I nearly let a nine year old girl beat a man half to death… What if… what if I'm a bad influence on her? What if I turn Ellie into a killing machine?"

"Hey now, none of that," I say, refusing to let Clementine beat herself up when none of this has actually been her fault. "Ellie's still _alive _because of you, Clem."

"What good is her being alive if she's gonna turn into a murdering psychopath?"

Biting my tongue and restraining myself from pointing out the irony of that statement, considering that the two of us aren't exactly angels ourselves, I instead stare out the same window and wait for her to continue speaking. Clearly there's more to all of this than she's letting on, so maybe if I play my cards right, she'll have less of a problem opening up to me.

Wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders, I pull her in close as I feel her body softly shaking against my side. The girl can put on a tough guise for as long as she wants to, but I know her better than she thinks I do.

After all, what are big sisters for?

"I'm… I'm scared, Jane…" she finally admits, her shields finally being lowered after such a long time of holding it all back.

Rubbing calming circles along her left shoulder, I spot Ellie staring over at us as I give her a slight smile. "I know," I tell her, offering up the only amount of sympathy I can physically give. "I think I am too, sometimes. I'm just way too stubborn to admit it. And you've got no idea how much Lilly would be poking fun at me for admitting something like that."

Giggling softly as she relaxes her head against the crane of my neck, Clem stays locked in that position as the tension surrounding us slowly dissolves. I've missed this – the nights that Clem and I could just be ourselves back at Houston Hills. Cracking jokes, keeping each other safe, and just enjoying each other's company… who could ask for more than that? It was better than I could've possibly asked for.

"Have you ever wanted to go back to how things were before?" I question softly, correcting myself before continuing. "I mean… just with a few of us? You, me, Lilly and Ellie out on our own. It's not as if we haven't done it before, and we could probably get by with what we have. We're pretty smart that way."

"And just abandon everything we've worked for?" she cracks the faintest of smiles. "I can't say that I haven't thought about it… just running off and finding a place to call our own… but…"

"There's no way we can go back now," I sigh, removing myself from my daydream and scolding myself for being so selfish about it. Sure, our own personal happiness is important and all, but to just fuck all that we've been fighting for and drop it down the toilet? Not only would that be a massive slap in the face, but I've no doubt that our group members would raise hell in trying to get us to stay.

…surely James could take over though, couldn't he? I mean, wasn't it really his and Bo's idea to create this team in the first place?

"Jane?" she suddenly asks me as I glance down at her face. Even at fifteen, she still somehow can maintain that childlike look of wonder and exploration. I wish she would show this side of her more often. "What… what was it like?"

"You're gonna have to be more specific there, kiddo."

"When you and Lilly finally grew some brains and got together," she elaborates, making me wonder why she's asking about this in the first place, "what did it feel like? How did you know that she was the one for you?"

Still managing to get all warm inside whenever I think about it, I tell her to walk down the hallway with me so that we can have this conversation a little more privately. Ellie's preoccupied with talking to the other kids her age, so we manage to sneak out of that room almost undetected. Seriously, I need like some sort of teleportation device or an invisibility machine around here!

Moving closer towards the back, I figure that the two of us may as well check out that truck Joe had mentioned to see if there are any walkers lurking about. There's a path down the hallway that leads straight outside, so we don't have to follow all of the various steam-filled pipes and whatnot in order to move.

"Gimme a hand with this," I usher her as she follows in behind me and grasps onto the big, metal door. On the count of three, we shove it forwards as the door screeches and groans. The light is blinding as we step out into the fresh air, and it takes a little while for my eyes to adjust as we stumble upon a hidden gem out in this dreary, depressing place.

It's some kind of grove by the look of it, with little forest animals scurrying about like squirrels, chipmunks and a various assortment of birds. There's an old swing set nearby with the chain holding it together starting to rust, but as soon as I spot the thing, I know that we've got to check it out. How many times are we going to be able to do something like this?

"…damn it…" Clementine mutters sadly, crouching down as she points ahead to a scene that's very difficult to watch. Five walkers stand a little ways away, with most of them being nothing more than walking piles of skin and bone at this point, but the heartbreaking thing is how short and young some of them seem to be. "That girl over there… she looks like she's no more than ten… That… that could've been me… or Ellie…"

A bright red backpack is still wrapped around the zombified girl's shoulders, leading me to believe that she hadn't managed to take it off before getting nabbed by something out here. The bites on her arms tell me that she definitely died from the infection spreading, but the poor thing looks as though she's been like this for quite some time. She may have been the same height and size for years now.

We've done this same routine a thousand times beforehand, so taking out the walkers isn't really a hassle for us. Sneaking my way towards the girl, I try not to think about what I'm doing as my knife is quickly dug into the back of her undead skull; sending brain matter to splatter out as her head hits the ground. Clementine takes out two more of the walkers with no issue, and I quickly dispatch the fourth with a swift kick to the knee and a blade buried right through its eyeball.

"Keep your head down," she tells me as a gunshot goes off; killing the fifth and final corpse as it drops dead with its fallen comrades. The noise is a bit concerning, but out in the open like this will allow us to spot them from nearly any direction. Plus, with Hunter's Retreat just a short walking distance away from us, we're pretty much safe for the time being.

"Nice work there, partner," I quip, reminded of that time back at Parker's Run when we were first getting to know each other a bit better. "Glad to see your walker-handling skills are still on point. I think that I was getting a little bit rusty back there, you know?"

Smirking with pride at the compliment, Clementine shrugs her shoulders before looking over at me pointedly. "You didn't answer my question," she inquires curiously, wanting to know the deets as I roll my eyes. "Oh come on, Jane! It's not dorky or anything! If I didn't get invited to the wedding, then the least you can do is to tell me what it was like!"

"There _was no wedding_, you goofball," I remind her with a chuckle, but I am interrupted as my eyes catch the glimpse of something in the distance. Although it hasn't been kept nearly as fresh and clear-cut as it would've been beforehand, I can still make out what this place actually is. "No fucking way…" I mutter while jogging straight ahead and getting an excited glimmer in my eyes as I encourage Clementine to follow me. This definitely isn't just a small grove, that's for sure.

Racing down the hill as I try not to trip over my own two feet, I hear Clementine yell for me to slow down as I move over towards the sand trap. The grass has become much too long for a solid round of the sport, but the golf clubs that have been left down there are more than enough incentive for me to try and take our minds off of David for a little while.

"Come on, you've gotta see this!" I holler at her, pumped to try and hit something with the driver as I yank it out of the golf bag. Unzipping the side pocket, I grin and shake my head in wonder as I'm thrown back to yet another time spent with Jaime. "Man, this takes me back… I wish we had one of those golf carts to start driving around. You up for a golf game, Clem? Bet you that I could hit that clubhouse from here!"

Setting up the small tee as I place it in the ground and delicately place the golf ball on top of it, Clementine scoffs and shakes her head. Clearly she underestimates my PGA-worthy athletic abilities over here.

"Yeah, okay," she remarks sarcastically as I try to line up the shot like how I was taught to years ago. "I'd bet my last comic book that there's no way in hell that you'll actually – "

Swinging with precision, I watch as the ball sails high up into the air and gets carried forward by the wind. With gravity doing its work, the ball is soon brought down until it smashes straight through the clubhouse window; leaving a tiny hole in the process as I smirk in victory.

"…hit it…" she trails off, sighing in defeat as she grabs the driver out of my hands. "Alright, set me up here, sista. How'd you smack the ball like that?"

* * *

_**Lilly's POV**_

It took a heavy amount of convincing, but Racheal and I finally managed to get Kelly away from his body and get back on the road. Elliot's gone now… gone but most certainly not forgotten. The shock of his death is still fresh in our minds, and Kelly's been feeling more burnt-out about it than any of us.

How are we going to explain this to everyone else back home?

"Quit dragging your feet back there," Racheal tells me sharply as I'm drawn out of my reverie. "Stay sharp, alright? We need you on point, and having your head in the clouds isn't going to help anyone."

"How about you keep your eyes forward and keep your opinions to yourself? I'm fine back here…"

Casting one last steely glance over at me, Racheal huffs before doing as I've suggested and focusing instead on getting around the mass of people surrounding Ranger's Grove. I had told the two hunters that were with us to report their losses back at their camp, but mostly it was just so that the three of us could be left alone. If they had just stuck to the original plan and stayed with the group, then maybe they could've been around to save Elliot's life. Instead, they went off gallivanting to try and find their dead brethren while leaving us almost completely defenseless to the oncoming attack, so forgive me if I'm a little bit reluctant to keep them around right now.

Kelly's moving about as quickly as a walker behind me; looking as though she had just lost her best friend. In a way she actually kind of did, what with the two of them being rather close and all, but truthfully I would've thought that Racheal would be more upset than either of us. She'd known Elliot the longest and had almost always stuck by his side, and yet when he died she barely batted an eyelid.

"Do you have any idea where we're going? This doesn't look like the way we came in," I remark as we pass by yet another sketchy alleyway. Everything seems so unfamiliar, from the graffiti-stained brick walls to the rat-infested garbage cans. The muffled shouting coming from the north is pretty worrisome too, yet none of us really know what's going on up there. Isn't Tracy supposed to be keeping those people in line?

"As long as we keep heading east, we'll be fine," she insists; keeping her distance as a random walker patrols the street nearby. "Just stick to the plan, Lilly. Don't do anything stupid out here – the sooner we get back to your, ahem, _wife _over there, the sooner we can all get the fuck out of this hellhole. I'm done with Missouri and all of this bull crap. We shouldn't have come here in the first place."

"Tracy and Joshua would've come to sweep over our home and kill us all, you know that," I reprimand as the three of us scoot across the road and out of sight. Kelly accidentally knocks into a garbage can in the process, but thankfully the walker is too busy now chasing after a wild dog to notice us. "Clem made the right call – we all did. At least now we're sure of what's out here."

"Ha! More like we're even further in the dark than we were before!" she disagrees, apparently feeling the urge to have a real, solid argument with me today. Blowing a loose strand of hair out of her eyes, Racheal stops for the rest of us to catch our breath before we go to run towards the next house. "If we hadn't come out here, then people wouldn't have gotten hurt, and we could've just weathered out the storm! No part of this trip has been a success, Lilly! Face it – we fucked up!"

"Don't you have a damn heart anymore, Racheal? Jesus Christ, give it a rest already!" Kelly tiredly belittles her. "We just lost Elliot, and yet again here you are trying to find somebody to blame for all of this mess! Can't you just quit trying to go after our own people for one day? Is that seriously too much to ask?"

Turning her head towards the medical assistant, Racheal bends down in front of her as she glares sharply and points back in the direction that we had come from. "I cared more about that kid than either of you did, so don't you dare try to say that I don't give a shit!" she retorts in fizzled-out anger, resorting to venting to the only people around who are able to listen. "Second, if somebody doesn't question these kinds of things, or stop to take a minute and think this stuff through, then we're just going to keep making the same exact mistakes as before. So until we finally start acting as a democracy and make the choices that are best for _everyone_, then no, Kelly – I won't stop. I can't live like that… knowing that the decisions we're making are putting the people I care about at risk. There's… there's just no way we can keep doing this kind of thing…"

"…no point in arguing about it right now though. We've got a job to do, remember?" I point out; wielding the fire axe that I had used with both hands as I motion for the two of them to get on their feet. "I'll check the street to make sure it's clear – when I give the signal, cross the street and come towards me. Is that a good enough plan for you, Racheal?"

Shaking her head and muttering something unintelligible, I take that as acceptance as I breathe deeply and get ready for yet another sprint. I know that the way things are run within the Fireflies isn't always perfect, and even I've come to question some of the methods that we've been using with recruitment and such, but I've grown to trust Clementine and what she can do. Besides, with Jane and I also having a hand in deciding what the best courses of action should be, I'd say that we've done a pretty decent job so far. Setting up connections out here is going to be one hell of a big step in securing a long-lasting peace, and it kind of makes me wonder why we hadn't tried something like this before. After the world ended, everyone kind of just started drifting away from each other instead of banding together to try and recreate the society we had lost. Nobody wanted to step up and try to make peace. Most of us either tried to kill each other or simply ignored one another so that we could live a life of complete solitude.

That's not living, that's just… _being_. We could've solved a bunch of these problems a long time ago.

Suddenly, as I start my run across the cobblestone road and try making my way over to an abandoned SUV, I hear the shouting and unrest even more loudly than it was before. Looking ahead, I can see dark pillars of smoke and the heavy scent of fire burning in the air – melting flesh that makes you want to vomit if you get too many doses of it.

_That's definitely not normal, _I think to myself as I see the soccer field; scattered with people as they all look pissed off for some reason. It's almost as if an angry mob has suddenly been released onto the world, with the same mentality of a bull seeing nothing but red. Gunshots are going off like crazy in the distance, and the mass influx of Rangers trying to restore order makes me want to get back to Alden and the others quickly.

"_You promised us food and protection! Where the fuck is all that shit now?!" _one of the people demand as a roar of agreement follows. However, before the man can even utter another sound, he's silenced by a gunshot to the head as his buddie scatter like leaves to the wind. It's utter chaos over there, and we're right on the outskirts of it.

"_YOU AIN'T NO LEADER! YOU'RE A MINDLESS BARBARIAN!" _one of them shout as they fire a machine gun over to the side; obviously trying to kill someone as he and some of the other people pull back towards some of the houses.

Realizing that it's now or never, I hurriedly wave Kelly and Racheal forwards before any of these lunatics spot us out in the open.

What the fuck is going on over in Ranger's Grove?

"You may want to call it in… tell Clem and Jane that we've gotta move…" Racheal suggests as a young woman out in the streets in pulled back by her hair and stabbed right in the back by another crazed soul.

Nodding in agreement, I flick the switch on and try to find a signal for this damn thing to work, but the reception out here is absolute shit. Perhaps if we could get to the roof back where Marcus, Alden, Katie and Kaz all are…

"C'mon, let's get going," I tell them as the young woman's agonized screams fill the air behind us.

* * *

_**Tracy's POV **_

This is madness. Pure, unadulterated, fucked-up madness, and I've got little to no control over any of it. Two hundred or so people to control… I should've known that it wouldn't last out here. Too many mouths to feed, and too many idiots who'd have little problem with taking out their guns and setting the whole place ablaze just for a little fun. Dozens of men and women are dead now thanks to these so-called "rebellions", and our people have been unable to restore order.

How was I supposed to know that we'd run out of food around here? Nobody told me that Missouri was almost completely tapped!

It had all started with one pathetic excuse of a man bitching about how he had eaten nothing but leftover crackers all week, but then again – all it takes is one little spark for the fire to take place. That one man's complaints had gotten a bunch of them talking and questioning just how long they'd last around here, and cared nothing for all the hard work we planned on doing to make Ranger's grove into a thriving, liveable community. I didn't intend for that bastard to get shot, but Joshua just couldn't help himself.

I'd string him up on the soccer light post myself if I actually knew where he scurried off to. That little rat has basically left me to the wolves.

Getting a swift punch to the face courtesy of one of the enraged assholes, I quickly pull out a pistol and shoot him right in the stomach before he can land another one on me. Crawling away to safety, I hear his terrified squeals as those who were once close to him turn into walkers and attack; ripping into his legs and feasting as if it were a Thanksgiving dinner. With so many people dying left and right, with bullet shells riddling the ground and bodies littering the soccer fields as people just try to maul each other over whatever supplies they have, I try to keep my head down and make my way towards the administrative office on the other side. Maybe if I get there in time, I can just lock the door, wait it out and sprint away before anybody notices that I'm gone.

There's still a few bags of food left securely in that office if I recall correctly, unless of course Joshua manages to…

…that son of a bitch!

Gritting my teeth in anger, I watch as Joshua cowardly climbs up to the rooftop and tries to smash through the window with the butt end of his gun; whimpering as he disturbs some of the wounds that I was foolish enough to fix up for him. How I had ever made him to be the second in command is beyond me, but I know what I'm gonna do to that pompous fucker once I get my hands on him.

The world would be a much safer place without a maniac like him wandering around.

"FUCK! PULL BACK! EVERYONE PULL BACK!" bellows one of the men who was in charge before we had arrived a little over a week ago. "WE'VE GOT BITERS OUT HERE! PULL BACK TO THE SUBURBS! WE CAN TAKE 'EM FROM THERE!"

_Idiots, _I think to myself as I roll over to my side and avoid getting trampled on by a few scared boys running for their lives. I never meant for all of this to happen, you know. I truly wanted this to be a chance for us, and for me to actually take the reins and lead a group for once. Who would want to fuck with us when we had an army of a couple hundred strong? There wouldn't be any reason for us to have to sleep out in the mud and the rain, and we would've finally been able to maintain a sense of normalcy in these troubling times.

But would anyone listen to me? No, of course not – none of these pricks would stop for a minute to try and see the good that I planned on doing around here, instead only seeing me as another fucking dictator who's only goal it was to make their lives even more miserable.

Well, fuck 'em! If they all want to die like animals out here, then who the hell needs them?! I can find my own way in life and leave every single one of these assholes behind! No repercussions, no nothing! I'm in control of my own destiny, and I certainly don't need these other people getting in my way!

"Joshua, you traitorous fucker! Get back here!" I yell as I finally manage to get over to the office building; groaning in anger as he disappears through the smashed window. Clambering up the pipe that drops down from the eavestrough, I have vengeance on my mind as my adrenaline keeps me going like a steroid. If that bastard thinks that he's getting away with the loot, he's got quite another thing coming.

Exhausted after finally managing to climb up, I stumble towards the window and furiously storm past shards of glass as Joshua looks over like a rat in a trap.

"Drop the bag right now, Josh! I'm not going to ask this again!" I warn, aiming my pistol right at his head as he gets a murderous glint in his eye. "This is what you were after the whole time, wasn't it?! You wanted me dead ever since we arrived, you ungrateful bastard! I gave you everything!"

"You never listened to a word I said, not even once!"

"That's because you were constantly trying to kill everyone!" I point out with indignity. "For fuck sakes, man! How am I supposed to trust a damn word you say when you're off torturing people and cutting off their limbs for fun?! That isn't normal! People don't do that sort of thing! I wanted to create, but you constantly wanted to destroy!"

Setting the food down carefully, Joshua slowly moves closer towards me before glaring and bashing my head against the picture frame behind me; shattering it into pieces as I'm forcibly thrown to the floor.

Taking out a photograph, Joshua forces me to look at the same girl he had shown me a very long time ago. She has brown, lightly-flowing hair that covers her eye from view, a small bandana wrapped around her head, and a tiny smile that compliments her face. The girl looks pretty soft-spoken, but as I've witnessed beforehand, looks can be very deceiving.

"I've asked you to help me look for Anne for over five fucking years now," he rages, kicking me in the side and pulling out a knife as he twirls it around precariously. "You told me you would; nodded your head and said you would come with me back to Georgia to help track her down. But did you ever follow through? Did you ever take the time to try and help me find her? Of course not – you were much too busy bossing me around and fucking our group in the ass."

Spitting blood out of the corner of my mouth, I snap at him darkly as Joshua pins me to the ground. "I saved you from a wild goose chase, you fucking psycho…"

"…do you know why her eye's covered like that? How she had gotten it that way?" Joshua suddenly questions as he flips me onto my backside. Slicing a part of my cheek with the knife, Joshua smirks devilishly as he starts to enjoy this far too much. If I could just reach that damn gun on the floor over there… "I really wish I could've drawn it out some more, you know. Anne deserved to be tortured more. It should've lasted longer than it did. You see," he continues as my breathing intensifies twofold, "she didn't have a whole lot of friends back then. Bullied constantly, and didn't really get a lot of sympathy from anyone. Except for one guy at school: me."

I try to reach my hand out to grab something, _anything _at all to help me gut this freak and end him once and for all, but Joshua instead drives the knife traight into my wrist and digs deep as I scream in pain and wriggle underneath his weight.

"Nuh uh, I don't think so, Tracy. _Tsk-tsk, _that was rude, you know – I was telling you a story," he mocks as the pain becomes almost unbearable. "Anyways, as I was saying, I came to Anne when we were younger. We played together, sang songs, drank beer when we knew we weren't allowed to, and just had a shitload of laughs back then. I really thought she was the one, you know? I thought that we had something special; something you couldn't just find out of nowhere," he reveals as I start to lose feeling in my left hand. "So one night, after we had swung back a few brews in the parking lot… I made a move. I thought she would care, and I thought she would love me as much as I loved her. But no… instead she broke away from me, saying she wasn't ready and that we weren't meant for each other. _You're hurting me, _she kept on saying, but I couldn't bear it. I couldn't bear the thought of not being with her. So when she went to run away, well… I made some adjustments."

Knowing fully well where this is going, I struggle to squirm away from him as he prepares to recreate the same scenario. This can't be happening… no, not by a fucking leech like him…

I scream and bellow for help as Joshua tilts my head back to the floor, chuckling sinisterly as the knife gleams with my fresh blood.

"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHGHHHHHHHHH!" I screech as he slams my head and drives the knife directly into my eyeball; yanking it out before immediately going to the next one and striking again. My body recoils in shock and convulsions as I cry tears of red; falling over as he finally releases his hold on me.

"You were partly right about me, you know…" he states smoothly as if he's done nothing wrong. "But torturing people? Much more satisfying than killing, Trace. Have a nice life."

"YOU FUCKER! GAAAAAHHHHH!" I belt out in anger as I hear him pick up the food bag and calmly walk away without another word, leaving me to rot as I thrash about violently. I've been blinded for life by my own former ally.

But maybe I was just blind to what was in front of me the entire time.

* * *

_AN: Aqua, if you're reading this, I'm sorry if I got that backstory wrong, but I needed an explanation that would kind of suit his personality somewhat. Your OC is absolutely terrifying lol._

_And I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out – I know, three or four weeks is a long wait. I've been kind of distracted with other projects and things in my life recently, but hopefully this chapter will have made up for it. _

_Lastly, I'm going to try and include more light-hearted and happy moments in this story like the golfing thing that you had just read about. I think that some of the charm from the original story has been lacking with these, partly due to the overwhelming number of OC's, but also because I've been getting so caught up in my own ideas lately. So yeah, expect to see more focusing on Lilly, Jane and Clem together in the coming chapters, and hopefully you guys will enjoy that. _

_Anyways, let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! I'm really happy that we managed to surpass 156 reviews, which beat the number from the first story, so please leave me your feedback! It's always appreciated, and I'll almost always try to get back to you guys through PM._

_However, for the recent guest user who reviewed, here is my response:_

_Guest: I'd like to think that they won't just axe off Kenny and Jane early in season 3. For them to develop and make them into two such important characters in season 2, and to give you the option to stay with either of them in the end, it would seem like a huge slap in the face to just abandon them like that. Hopefully we'll get to spend some more time with them, otherwise the endings will have pretty much meant absolutely nothing. Give us some character development, please! We'll just have to hold onto some hope :) _

_Ok, that's all I've got for this chapter, so thanks for reading, and as always, stay classy, folks XD_

_Leafs Nation_


	25. For your eyes only

_AN: Just wanted to start by saying that Galen Devereaux is hosting a The Last of Us Role Playing session that he's created himself on this site! It looks really promising from what I've seen, so if you're interested, be sure to check it out! _

_Hopefully the link works: myforums/Galen-Devereaux/6276423/ks!_

_If the link doesn't show up, just PM him for details! Thanks again!_

* * *

_**Clementine's POV**_

"_Jane? Clem? Are you there?"_

The brown-haired vixen standing beside me quickly shares a glance as she snatches the radio off of her belt and raises it to her mouth. Flicking it on as the power bar glows a dull shade of green, meaning that the batteries will soon run out of juice, she keeps her thumb pressed against the speaker switch and responds.

"Yeah, Lils. I'm here, what's up?" she asks as I line myself up close to the golf ball. Alright, Clem, just like she taught you… knees slightly bent, shoulders relaxed, fingers nimble, eye on the target.

Adjusting for the wind's velocity will have to come at a later date. That is, if we actually ever get to try something like this again.

"_Uhh… Christ, you're never gonna believe this…" _Lilly's voice fizzles on the other end as I keep one ear alert to what they're saying, all the while trying to keep some concentration on my golf game.

"Yeah? Well… we've had a little bit of a…_ problem_… around here, too," Jane mentions, stealing a sorrowful look my way as I try to block out the images and vivid memories from coming back to me. However, all I can really see right now is David's face right down on the ground – implanted on the dirty, old golf ball as he taunts and laughs at me maniacally. "Just tell me what's going on. You know I hate it when you get worked up about these things!"

"Go to hell, you prick…" I mumble as I prepare to smack David's face away with one swing of the club. Steadying my aim, I furrow my brow and take a stroke backwards…

"_Elliot's gone… they killed him while we were out looking for those hunters…" _she reveals as I completely miss the ball and accidentally let go of the golf club; letting it slide out of my fingers and not bothering to watch as it sails down the hill a couple dozen feet away. _"And there's been a huge uprising over here – bodies everywhere, people hiding in the houses and trying to stay alive. We've never seen anything like it."_

Whatever focus I may have had has vanished in an instant. No… Elliot can't be gone… Did… did I fail them again? Should we have all gone out to help? Maybe if I had done something…

Rubbing a hand over her face, Jane nurses a growing headache as I instantly appear by her side in anticipation. I've already made my mind up about what I want to do next, and come hell or high water, I _will _get our people back home safely.

"_We're holed up in a house just across from the soccer field, but we need to get moving," _Lilly advises, maintaining her stern tone before she has the chance to falter. Why does she always have to have her guard up all the time? _"Alden's ankle is all busted up, so it's gonna be a bitch trying to carry him all the way back to Houston…"_

"…we might be able to cover that problem," Jane tells her, having noticed that the clubhouse off in the distance has a small garage with at least three different vehicles stocked away safely inside. One of them has got to be a winner. "We may end up having a capacity problem if things get too hectic, but we can cross that bridge when we get there," she adds with a twinge of doubt.

"_So what did David have to say about it then?"_

"…we took care of it."

"_Huh? What does that mean? Clem, is that you?"_

Sighing heavily, Jane closes her eyes for a moment as I quietly put my hands in my pockets and stare at the ground. Lilly was going to find out about this one way or another, so it'd probably be much easier just to tell her straight away rather than waiting and surprising everyone.

Picking up the receiver yet again, Jane glances over at me with a stoic look on her face. "It's just like she said," she replies, "we took care of him. He's not a threat anymore."

"…_well, shit…" _Lilly breathes out. _"I guess it was inevitable though, wasn't it? At least you two are alright."_

_No, I'm definitely not doing okay, _I think to myself darkly, keeping these opinions to myself as I tune out the rest of the conversation and check on my weapon. Damn… pistol's nearly all out of bullets, and it's not as if I'm really packing any serious heat on my person. I know that Jane's usually got some ammunition laying around, but she probably needs that just as much as I do.

"You keep safe out there, got that?" Jane sternly tells her partner; concern for her safety etched into her voice as she stares longingly at the horizon. "And… I love you, Lilly. You know that, right?"

Chuckling to herself in embarrassment, I can tell without even seeing her that Lilly's face is flushing crimson. Even after all this time, she still has a hard time with admitting that she cares deeply about other people around here. _"Now who's going soft, eh?" _she jokes, muttering a quick "I love you" before flicking the radio off and leaving the two of us back in the dark.

Locking and loading my Glock pistol as I check to make sure that all is in proper order, I look up into her chocolate-coloured eyes and practically dare her to try and stop me this time. Fixing up my hat so that it's fitting more securely upon my head, I silently start to walk past her in the direction of Ranger's Grove; growing irritated when Jane stops me by placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Jane…" I tell her lowly, not in the mood to be playing these childish games, "move. I'm going out there and getting our people back."

"You're hurting, Clem. I can see it written all over your face," she accuses, striking a blow against my ego as I had thought that I was covering up the pain pretty well up to this point. Maybe my poker face isn't quite what it once was. "Just… stay here, alright? Keep Ellie safe, and make sure that you – "

"NO! I'M NOT STAYING HERE ANOTHER MINUTE!"

Realizing that I probably sound like a whiny brat, and definitely not the same calm, level-headed girl that Jane's come to expect, I clench my hands into fists so tightly that I can feel my nails digging into my palms. The pain, however, eases the ache in my soul – this place is dead to me, and the last thing that I want to do is stay in a rat's nest where some whack job almost…

As angry tears spring to my eyes, I choke out a sob and end up collapsing my forehead against Jane's chest; hating the fact that no matter what I try to do or how much I try to prove myself, at the end of the day I'm still just a kid in their eyes. This isn't fair!

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" I apologize over and over again, feeling my shoulders shake as I finally come to terms with how much crap Jane herself has had to go through. Between losing parts of her fingers, giving up her solitary life in order to come and help me, along with every other misadventure that we've come across, I should be god damn ashamed of myself. I wouldn't be here without her. "I'm sorry for everything…"

Having dealt with this sort of irregular behaviour beforehand, I'd say that Jane's become my go-to sister figure, and possibly one of the only people I can look to for any small amount of comfort. Seeming to understand, Jane places both of her hands on my shoulders and just stands there quietly, waiting for the meltdown to subside. This is more than just a minor scrape or a bruise, and that's just putting it lightly.

How does someone try to comfort a person when they're at their lowest?

"No need to apologize, Clem."

"Y-yes… there is…" I mumble into her jacket; taking a step back before tearfully looking up at her. I've grown so accustomed to her scent that it almost relaxes me every time that I get within a few feet of her. "I've done so much wrong out here… I've… I've been lying to you… you and Lilly…"

Arching an eyebrow, Jane folds her arms together as she tilts her head to the side like a confused puppy. Oh dear… did I just say that out loud? Crap! Stupid, stupid, stupid! She's not supposed to know this! Nobody's supposed to know about this! I can't forget about what happened the last time that somebody found out about her condition!

…but would it perhaps make things easier on me? On the both of us? After all, Jane's my most trusted friend… isn't she?

"Clem," she brings me back to the conversation, "what are you talking about? What do you mean you've been lying to us? Lying about what exactly?"

Flinching at the icy sting in her demand, I shrivel back into myself as I rub my arm and try to avoid eye contact. I've never felt so guilty before in my entire life, and that's including the time that I had let my pet hamster out of its cage that one day without fessing up about it. He ate an entire box of cookies, you know!

Seeming to notice my reaction, Jane bends down in front of me and tilts my chin up. "Look kiddo, you're not in any trouble," she mentions, throwing me back to a time when Lee had said those exact same words. In a way, he had been wrong about that assumption – not only did I get kidnapped, but I singlehandedly was partly responsible for the remnants of our group to fall apart. People have _died _because of me, whether it was intentional or not. "Just tell me what you know, alright? If it's got something to do with our group, then you've gotta let me know," she tells me, wiping away a few stray tears as they trail down my cheeks. "Come on, Clem. Open up. You can trust me, I'm your friend."

Ellie, forgive me… I hope this doesn't come back to bite us all in the ass…

"It's about Ellie…" I reveal, barely finding the strength within me to keep a decent sentence together. "It's… she's…"

"_Jane!"_

Great… saved by the bell, I guess.

Interrupted from our little heart-to-heart that we've been having over here, I immediately stop talking and turn to look at that older man Jane was talking to earlier. He seems pretty unnerved about something.

Looking rather peeved that she was unable to get a confession out of me, Jane quietly groans before turning around to see what the problem is. "The truck is probably in that garage over there, if that's what you're asking."

"What? No, no, that's not it!" he shakes his head, wringing his prune-like hands together as he gestures back to Hunter's Retreat. "Some lady came in through the front looking for you two…" he mentions as he gathers my full attention; the duress I was under forgotten for the meantime. "She was caked in blood from head to toe, but the only weapons we found on her were an empty shotgun and a rusty spoon – she's rightly spooked, Jane. She won't tell us anything other than that she'll only speak to the people in charge. For the time being, I suppose that's you."

Shrugging my shoulders, I dab at my eyes as Jane reluctantly follows in behind. She probably hates having to be in charge more than anyone I know, yet that's the position that she's been tossed into right now. Maybe she'll come to see that it's not quite as easy as it sounds on paper.

I know that I'm going to have to tell her the truth eventually, before it comes out in a way that neither Jane nor Lilly will appreciate. It'd sound a lot better coming from me, even if it may be a bit hard to believe at first. Believe me, when I saw that Ellie hadn't turned after getting attacked in the basement, I nearly had to slap myself just to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. Is it something to do with her body? I honestly have no idea how she can't get infected, but maybe it's time that I come clean to the right people – they out of anyone would be able to understand my decision to keep this hidden for so long.

As I'm about to follow them inside to check on our uninvited guest, I stop myself as I notice that the ball is still securely placed on the tee nearby, along with a nice, big chunk of grass missing beside where I had swung and missed. Not wanting her brief lessons to go to waste, I trudge down the hill before snatching the golf club back in my hands and sighing.

I wish things could be this peaceful every single day.

Smacking the ball down the fairway, I carry the club with me as I tiredly smirk; watching as the little guy sails over to a large patch of green. I might not have the physical strength and power in my swing that Jane's got, what with the size difference and all, but for my first attempt, I'd say that I've done pretty decently. Not too shabby for a rookie.

"Looking at the next Tiger Woods right here," I praise myself; nodding as I hold the club up like a baseball bat. This would make for a decent weapon in a pinch.

Leaving the golf course behind, I make a solemn vow: at some point or another, I'm going to sit down with Lilly, Jane and Ellie to explain things. As long as I get their promise not to mention a word of this to _anyone_, especially James or Bo, then I might be able to elaborate on the reasons I had for hiding this for so long.

After everything we've been through together, they have the right to know the truth.

* * *

"I think that we've got over a dozen or so people with us who'd like nothing more than to hang you from the rafters," Jane scowls as our mystery person, Fiona, is treated by two former nurses from Hunter's Retreat. She's lucky that neither of them really have a grudge. "Why are you here, and what the hell do you want?"

Cringing as some of her cuts are tended to upon the lower portion of her neck, Fiona struggles to stay still while explaining herself at the same time.

"It's the camp… we lost all control," she tells us as sweat beads start to form on the top of her forehead. Looks as though she's in a whole lot of pain right about now. "The food started drying up just a few days ago, and people were starving. Naturally, they blamed us for not providing… Gah!" she winces as the lacerations on her forearm are disturbed. I would say that I feel kind of bad for her, but considering the company she's been with, it's kind of difficult for me to find any sympathy. "Joshua's fucking lost it – he shot the first person who spoke out just as we were trying to restore order. The people rose up and just started killing each other left and right. Josh tried to take off with the food, and… and Tracy…"

Confused, Jane snaps her fingers in front of Fiona's face as she tries to get her attention. How could this possibly be the same person who had snuck over to our camp with Joshua just over a week ago? They're nothing alike!

"Stay with me here, got that? Where is she?" Jane questions; the tension on her face more than enough evidence to suggest that she wants Tracy to be marked for dead. With the way that Lilly and Bo had been treated while under her roof, it really doesn't surprise me.

What a change it's been for her though… I remember how deflated and ashamed Jane had felt back when she had threatened to shoot Arvo back when we had first encountered him four years ago, but now? Now it's almost as if making idle threats is like a second nature to her, and frankly, it startles me a tad. Perhaps it's because she's been hanging around Lilly for, ahem, _extended _periods of time (which I definitely wouldn't know about at all…), but for whatever reason, Jane's fuse has gotten progressively shorter over the years. Sure, she doesn't exactly lash out violently nearly as much, since thankfully we've all seemed to learn our lesson from that, but I definitely wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

"Could we get a little help here?" one of the nurses ask aloud, and I oblige as I apply steady pressure to one of the open wounds so that they can grab some medical supplies from a toolbox stuffed away in the corner. I don't mind helping Fiona out honestly.

As far as I'm concerned, she's just another lost survivor just trying to have a go at life. Who could blame her for something as simple as that?

"In an office building… across from the soccer fields…" she coughs weakly, trying to get the mucus cleared out of her esophagus as she places her hand over her mouth. Manners haven't died off, apparently. "Tracy, she's… she's not the same person you'll remember…"

Feeling a set of small, delicate fingers tapping lightly against my right shoulder, I turn around to find Ellie standing there, looking as adorable as ever. She's still got a baby face for sure, but it still amazes me how much she's able to do at such a young age. I remember having to constantly look up to Lee when I was her age for guidance and support, but for the most part, that isn't actually the case with Ellie. She's grown pretty independent within the last three years.

I don't know whether to be proud that she's growing up into a strong, capable, young girl, or absolutely ashamed that she's had to become independent due to neglect from me. Aside from making sure nobody finds out about her condition, I haven't exactly been the best caretaker in the world.

AJ could attest to that, were he still around.

"How are you doing there, Els?" I smile lightly at the nickname, noticing how she has at least started to come out of her shell recently. No longer is she trying to hide behind my leg like she used to do when she was six. "Look... I know that was a pretty scary situation back there and all, but… I just wanted to say thank you, Ellie. You saved my life."

"Really?"

"Totally. I'd be a goner if it weren't for you."

Sporting a look of pride and sadness, Ellie glances at her feet while I sigh in wonder. It's true what I said, every word. I'd be dead if she hadn't smacked David around like she had. There's no denying that.

But with every action comes an opposite _re_action, at least that's what Lilly had off-handedly mentioned once. I think it's a science term, but I've never really gotten the chance to sit down and actually… you know, _read_ or anything, in a very long while. I think I'm pretty much still at the first grade level in that regard, if not worse after years of neglect.

There's no way that I can scold or discipline the kid for doing what she did. I mean, what is there really to say? You shouldn't have beaten him over the head and just left me to get choked out? No, that wouldn't make any sense.

The best thing I can probably hope for right now is just that she doesn't start making this a regular habit. I'll just have to make sure to look for signs of violent or disruptive behaviour.

"Wanna give me a hand with this?" I suggest as she pensively crouches down beside me. Taking my hands off of Fiona's wounds for just a moment, I grasp onto the child's smooth, tiny hands and help position her so that we're both on the exact same spot. "Together, then," I mention with a chuckle as Ellie squirms a little bit under the warm sensation.

Neither of us are really aware that Jane's been watching us the whole time from afar, and even she can't help but smirk slightly.

I'm going to do better by this kid, and actually make a point of teaching her all I know. Even if it kills me, I'll be there.

Because that's what guardians are supposed to do.

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

Sitting around the couches after having gotten back to the house nearly half an hour ago, I fold my hands together in solemn quiet as those around me remember the good times they had with Elliot. Occasionally someone will mutter a few passing words, others will reminisce on a particular enjoyable moment that they had with him, such as the time that Elliot accidentally got his hand stuck in the door back at the space centre. The guy was stuck in there for a solid two hours before Tommy finally sprung him loose, but Elliot didn't really care. He was just laughing and smiling and just brimming with life – it was one of the happiest times that I had seen him.

Katie's mostly keeping to herself over by the window, hovering near Racheal as she sits there with her face in her hands. I don't think it's really out of that much sadness, so much as just exhaustion. They've been out here for way too long, and so far none of this has gone the way they had planned. But, as always, we continue to use our heads and keep our wits about us. There's no telling what else could happen while we're out here.

Emily and Kelly are clearly the most broken up about his untimely death, with the former almost being unable to wrap her head around it when we brought the news over. She just kept shaking her head and refusing to acknowledge the fact that yet another dear friend of hers was gone; pointing to the door and telling me to go get him in flat-out denial. I almost didn't have the stomach to try and tell her that Elliot was dead for a second time. Putting him down was bad enough, but consoling the loved ones is nearly impossible.

Occasionally drawing back the curtains and peeking outside is Marcus, the mercenary for hire who's really the only person here that never knew who Elliot was. The guy's still got a high-powered rifle slung over his shoulders, which I'm still surprised about even now considering how many places must have gotten looted and ruined at this point. At least I don't have to smack him around for telling any lame jokes right about now, since even he's got the decency to quit while our people are in mourning. Kazuki is still tending to Alden on the sofa, although he seems to be feeling a little bit better since the last time we were here. The fever's started to go down, thankfully.

"You playing peek-a-boo with the curtains over there?" Katie breaks the ice, causing Marcus to abruptly stop what he was doing and turn his head to face her. "Dude, you've been looking out that same damn window for hours now. If anyone was trying to break into the house, they'd make a ton of noise – meaning we'd _hear them coming_, genius."

Glancing over to me with a sly look, Marcus shakes his head in bemusement. "Has your group always been filled with assholes in it? You probably could've warned me beforehand, you know."

"Not now, Marcus."

"But – "

"_Not. Now,_" I reiterate, cutting him off and shaking my head in disapproval. Now isn't the time for us to get all up in everyone's grill, and while there's little I can do to really try and talk to Katie (since I'm fairly certain that she and Racheal have it out for me somewhat), I can at least keep Marcus from making a mess of this delicate situation.

Thankfully seeming to catch my drift, Marcus mutters something sarcastically under his breath before checking out the window one last time and heading over to a wooden chair nearby.

"Alden?" I suddenly mention, as if everyone just remembered that he was still in the room with us. "How's that ankle faring up? Do you think you could walk at all?"

Rolling it around a little bit and wincing, Alden chuckles dryly before shrugging his shoulders. "Why? Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?" he sarcastically asks as Kazuki rubs his arm absentmindedly. "I'd need some help getting around, so yeah, I think it's possible. But I don't want to slow us down at all… Please tell me that Jane wasn't kidding about those cars?"

"We'll get you in one of them – don't worry," Emily remarks with the last shred of optimism left that she can afford today. "She said there were three of them, right? That should be enough to fit all of us pretty easily. Why don't we just start heading over there right now?"

"Some of them might still be out in the streets, and we'd have no idea. What if we get caught out in the open?" Kelly questions doubtfully, voting to stay here for the time being. At least until things clear up a little bit, at least.

That actually wouldn't be a terrible idea, and one that I could definitely get on board with were it not for the other exhausted and displeased patrons still in the room with us. I'm doubly aware that most of them just want to leave this entire place behind, get in the vehicles and drive off into the sunset… but if what Jane had mentioned to me is true…

"…the people staying over at Hunter's Retreat own those cars," I mention with a sigh, knowing that this isn't gonna be pretty, "which means that if we go… they have to go with us. And there's probably not going to be enough room for everyone."

Instantly, an eruption of moans, protests and looks of disbelief engulfs my ears and nearly deafens me as people all try talking over one another. Boy, I had a feeling that it wouldn't be a popular thing to say, but I didn't think the reaction would be quite _this _bad.

"Listen, listen! I know it sounds shitty and all, but we don't have any other options here," I point out. "We've only got the one truck, and there's no way that we'll all fit in there without somebody suffocating to death! What do you want me to do? Jack their cars and leave those people there?"

"Then just take one of them, then! We'll fit the rest of us in the back of the hatch and sit on each other's laps if we have to!" Racheal argues, but even then I don't want to try something like that.

"If you had seen how bad these people have it… you wouldn't be saying that."

"It's the apocalypse, Lilly. _Everyone's _got it bad," Katie mentions as Racheal nods in agreement. I think that I'm going to be on the losing side this time. "Besides, one car missing isn't going to strangle them – if they want to move afterwards, then they still have two more to skedaddle on out! We need to think about our own lives here! Tracy and her band of nut jobs are cracking at the seams right now. Isn't that what we wanted? This is our chance – they're fucked, and we can get on back home!"

Tossing my gaze over to Alden and Kazuki next to see if they're all on board with their insane plan, the girl bites her lip before adjusting herself on the couch. "I… I think we should do what's best for the group," she says, obviously not wanting to upset either side. "I feel pretty bad about it, stealing from them I mean… but what else can we do?"

Keeping to myself for a few moments and silently listening to the group as they relay their own opinions, I fold my hands together and sit in quiet reflection. I've had my share of mistakes in the past when it comes to this very issue, and although I've been choosing to bury my past regrets in the dirt, I think now would probably be a good idea to bring it up. Maybe it'll give them a different perspective.

Once my friends settle down a little bit, I clear my throat and recall my own previous experiences.

"Clem and I were in a group together, when all of this first started," I begin as my mind traces back to when I had first met her back in the drug store. It's kind of funny how scared of me she was back then, now that I think about it. "We were all holed up in some shitty motel just outside of Atlanta, and we had just… just gone through a pretty crappy time after visiting a farm for some food…"

I purposely leave out the details of the St. John dairy, since even to this day I occasionally get nightmares about that dreadful place. Never will I be able to shake those awful images away.

Noticing my hesitation, Kelly arches an eyebrow at me as I shake it off and keep going. "We stumbled upon some station wagon out in the woods later that night – filled with food and supplies that most of our group wanted to take. There was enough inside for all of us to last almost a month without going hungry."

"So… what did you do?" Emily asks, seemingly interested as the group starts to realize why I've brought this up in the first place.

"I thought it was a bad idea, since the keys were still in the ignition and all the lights were on. Clem did too, but it didn't matter. Our people took the supplies and stripped that car bare," I explain, not feeling the same remorse that Clementine did about that, seeing's how I never met the man we robbed. "Turns out, the guy that we stole from had just lost his entire family to walkers. And… and he ended up kidnapping Clem… but none of you heard that from me, understand?"

I don't think that she's told that to very many people, so I may have just spilled the beans pretty badly, but I need to get the point across. I may not be able to convince all of them, but if I can at least change the minds of _some_, then maybe I've done my job.

"I even stole the group's RV at one point – I'm not proud of it, but that's just how it is. I felt the same way that all of you do: broken, exhausted and desperate," I recall, trying as hard as I can not to sound like a hypocrite. "Twice I witnessed people getting fucked over, and I'm not willing to go through something like that again. Especially considering the fact that these people were willing to take us in with what little they had left. If you guys are still intent on robbing them, fine… but I'm not being a part of it. Not again."

Kazuki, Alden, Kelly and Emily all look pretty solemn about this decision now, as does Marcus, but he's pretty much just sticking around us for the supplies as far as I'm aware. Racheal and Katie still seem pretty adamant about this being the only way, but even the most oblivious person around would be able to see the slight hesitation in their eyes.

Speaking her mind, Emily shakes her head before tossing a busted, old pen she had found onto the coffee table in the middle of the room. "That's not who we are… and it's not what Elliot would want us to do either," she adds, mentioning his vote as he himself isn't around anymore to cast it in. "We're gonna have to negotiate something with these friends of yours then, Lilly. Maybe we can get some kind of a deal going."

Mulling it over a little bit on the couch, Alden snaps his fingers as the imaginary lightbulb glows over his brain. "You know, I think I might know just the – "

"_Bzzt… L…Lilly? Guys? You there?"_

"…I'll just keep it to myself then, I guess…" Alden mumbles as he rolls his eyes in slight annoyance, getting a couple of chuckles out of the group as Katie pats him on the arm lightheartedly.

"Yeah Jane – all present and accounted for," I reply in a snarky tone, feeling relieved to hear her voice as Ellie says hi in the background. "What's up, kiddo? You keeping those two troublemakers in line over there?"

"_Clementine's bossing me around too much! Can you tell her to get off my ass?"_

"_ELLIE!"_

"…_umm… please get off my ass?"_

Laughing at the childish banter on the other end of the line, and feeling at least a little hopeful that neither of their lights have completely died out just yet, I tuck a strand of hair behind my undamaged ear and ask them to put Jane back on the line. "What's up? Did you guys find something?"

"_Not exactly," _she responds seriously. _"Well… one of Tracy's goons came over to us looking for help, and she said that something big's gone down over at Ranger's Grove, so we're heading over there now to go check it out. It'd probably make us all feel a little easier if you guys came along as well."_

Nearly everyone smack themselves in the face as I sheepishly grin and shrug my shoulders. Looks like none of their wishes are really coming true today.

Just for the record, I need to point it out to them that this wasn't my idea!

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"Pl-please…" a dying man begs us as the three of us try to walk by, with me clutching tightly onto Ellie's hand so that she doesn't get snatched away from me again. Call me paranoid if you wish, but out here in this strange, bloody place, I think that it warrants the gesture. Mommy syndrome at its finest. "I've… I've been…"

Getting in front of the both of us and shoving us back a little bit, Jane frowns at the guy as his body starts to falter and shake. His stomach has been torn to shreds, bits of his legs are missing, and his left arm is riddled with bullet holes. His formerly white t-shirt is dampened in dark red as he struggles to keep his eyes open.

"W-water…" he groans, wanting at least a little bit of sustenance before he goes to meet his demise. "Please… just… just a drink… please…"

All within one swift movement, Jane silently pulls out her pistol from her back pocket and fires it into the man's skull; startling Ellie and I as we both jump back a little in surprise. I really didn't figure that she'd do that, even though we both know that it was probably necessary. In that guy's current state, he wouldn't have lasted another day.

But seeing her shoot the dying guy so quickly, despite the pain riddled on her face, I'm starting to second guess myself on whether or not I should be telling her about Ellie's bite. What if she doesn't listen to me and just ends it right away? Or tries to chop it off without hesitation like I had done to Sarita?

"Sorry…" she murmurs, whether to Ellie and I or to the dying man I don't rightly know. "C'mon, Fiona said it was just up ahead."

Our informant hadn't been lying when she told us about the devastation this place just endured. It looks like a warzone around here, with dozens upon dozens of bomb shells being dropped as those who are still left alive try to douse out the fires, tend to the sick and wounded, and just all in all try to pick up the pieces after this epic struggle. Most of the walkers have been put down, but the gruesome thing is the ones that haven't been – people are just ignoring some of the monsters, as they feast on a buffet of dead, decaying bodies. Most of those walkers aren't really posing much of a threat right now, seeing's how they're few and far between, but it's pretty creepy how nobody's really paying them any mind.

Squeezing onto her hand even more tightly for a brief second, I smile weakly at Ellie as I attempt to cheer her up a little bit.

Or is it the other way around? I can't really remember at this point – my mind's all over the place.

We see the faces of many dead men and women laying on the ground; permanently frozen in time and space as their dormant eyes remain open and unmoving. Flies and other insects start collecting around their decaying flesh, as flayed chunks of meat dangle off their bony limbs and rot in the scorching, southern heat. The scent of cooking flesh is practically unbearable as Ellie and I pull our collars over our noses. How is Jane not gagging from all of this shit?

"Look over there!" Ellie cries out as she points up near the office building, spotting our group in the distance as I feel a weight lift off of my shoulders. Thank god they're alright… or at least, most of them are.

"Wasn't sure that we were gonna see you guys again," Emily smiles as Kazuki immediately rushes up and hugs me and Ellie tightly. Alden and Kelly wave at me as Racheal, Katie and Marcus all head over to talk to Jane about something. "I'm glad you guys caught us when you did. I can't stand to be over here for any longer than we have to – place is a damn graveyard… It's eerie as hell."

Patting Kaz on the back as she releases her hold on me, I frown sadly as I nod my head. "No kidding," I concur, placing my hands in my pockets as I offer my condolences. "Emily… I'm so sorry about…" I cut myself off, not wanting to upset her further as she breathes in sharply. Maybe now's not the time to dwell on such things, not when we've already got enough problems to tackle as it is. "So… Tracy's inside, then?"

"She won't come out to talk to any of us," Kazuki remarks bitterly, making me think that she still has some unfinished business to settle in that department. Tracy's troops have fallen, and whatever group of survivors she may have had have been broken down and defeated – by their own hands, no less.

And here I was, wondering just how the hell we were ever going to be able to successfully get our guys back and return to the space centre. I wonder how James, Bo and the rest of them are doing anyways? We haven't had contact from them in a while. Have Luna, Jake and Scott all come home?

Tch… would've made things a lot simpler if we could just fly our way back…

"Make sure these pranksters don't wander off, okay?" I wink, making Ellie giggle and salute back to me as I ruffle her hair around a little bit and walk up to the door; shaking my head at Lilly as she offers to head inside with me. This is something I've got to do myself, without any interference from the outside.

Time for a one-on-one session with everyone's favourite psychotic dictator.

…no, not Carver, silly…

_Here goes nothing, _I think to myself anxiously as I slowly open the door, step inside and shut it softly behind me. The room is dank and depressing; lit only by the faint light of the sun as it pokes its head out from the clouds and dimly illuminates the room. This place has seen better days, what with the busted-up trophies, picture frames of past kids' soccer teams, ripped banners, flipped desks and rotting wood. A light trail of blood descends from the stairs nearby and leads to the small kitchen in the back.

Curious, I follow the trail and note that the kitchen area actually looks mostly intact. Pots and pans are still hanging from their hooks up above the stove in the middle of the floor, an old doghouse sits in the corner beside the powerless refrigerator to the right of me, and none of the cupboards look as though they've really been ransacked. Either the people who had raided this place originally were just really stupid, or they figured that tearing down the kitchen bit by bit wouldn't be a great idea.

Banging my shoulder against one of the pots as I get startled, I peer down at the crumpled heap of Tracy; both of her eyes covered by a thick, bloody bandage as she lays on her side in the fetal position. She looks so pathetic right now… it's difficult for me to remain neutral and not at least feel a twinge of sympathy for the woman.

"…who's that?" she croaks, her voice clearly having left her throat after screaming in agony. Joshua really did a number on her this time. "Is that you, Racheal? _Tsk_… I already told you fuckers, just leave me here to die! You'd be better off bugging somebody else…"

"It's not Racheal," I state, watching as she sits up a little bit. Can she really tell who I am based solely on my voice?

"Ah… Clementine…" she breathes out, confirming my suspicions. "I have to admit, I expected a visit from you much earlier than this. What happened? Did your limo break down or something?"

"…we had some complications along the way."

"Well, that's not exactly much to go on," she blows a raspberry, scoffing at my reluctance to go into detail. "Come on, kid. I'm blind – can't exactly read your facial expressions anymore. And it's not as if I've got anywhere else to go."

Sliding to the floor with my back against the oven, I cross my legs as I lay them flat onto the floor and stare at her face for a moment. It's weird seeing her so vulnerable. Almost _out of place _with her, even. In the brief encounter that I had with her, I remember that she always seemed to be in control of things – be it her people, the issue at hand, and even her own self. As dark and brooding as her tactics may have been, she really appeared as if the crap she did was for her own group's survival, totally at the expense of everyone else.

Karma's a bitch, ain't it?

"I'm guessing you'd know David?" I inquire, continuing as she nods and grits her teeth in slight anger. "He tried to kill me and take my friend away. Got right up on top of me and… and tried to…"

"Say no more…" Tracy waves her hand, showing that deep down she at least has a _little _bit of humanity. "We had come into contact with him before heading over here – even I could tell what a fucking perv the guy was. He still there? He still tryin' to wag his tail around everywhere?"

"Dead."

Whistling as she folds her arms across her chest, Tracy nods her head in approval as I roll my eyes. I'm not proud of what transpired, not by any stretch of the imagination. "Colour me impressed, girlie – I knew you were a wicked, little devil, but I honestly didn't think you'd have the stones to pull it off. Between you and me though, I'm glad he's buried six feet under. No place in the world for scum buckets like David," she adds while trying not to move her head around too much. The bandages don't look as though they've been changed since she had them put on, but she better not think that I'm going near her. I've already had to do that once in my life, and I don't plan on doing that again.

Frowning, I shake my head in disapproval. Sure, she may be right about people like him, but killing someone is an entirely different story. I don't kill because I want to, I do it only when it's necessary.

Lee had taught me that, a long time ago.

Noticing my pause, Tracy sighs deeply and rests against the cupboard in a deflated position. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret here, Clementine," she tells me, her voice barely above a whisper. "Everyone lives, and then everyone dies. It doesn't matter how, the outcome is always the same. Old age, heart attack, sickness, bullet to the chest, eaten alive by roamers. None of that matters. The only important factor in play is time," she shrugs her shoulders, explaining things as if she's writing her last will and testament. "Now timing… timing is everything – when it's the right moment to strike, how old the victim is, when it's time to haul ass out of there after you've made a fresh kill."

Taking her words with a grain of salt, she lightly holds her hands out in front of her for added effect as she smirks in wonder.

"It's ironic though, isn't it?" she chuckles bitterly. "Time is the main consideration, and yet we can't even tell what time it is right now! How am I supposed to know when my last day will have been when the guys you're with have enough and come storming in here to tear me limb from limb?"

Mulling over her little speech that she's just given to me, I almost feel like giving in and conceding. Maybe she's right. Maybe we're all just time bombs, ticking down the seconds until our bodies give out on us and we all shut down. Could we really just be wasting our breaths trying to fight out here in this life?

But there's also a part of me that's rising up, beating in my heart against my chest and telling me that it's not too late, and that she's just turned into a sad, bitter woman with no hope left in the world.

"…I don't believe you."

"Which part was confusing?"

"You may have given up, but I'm not. I won't quit on these people just yet if they haven't given up on me," I say with a determined state of mind, seeing the images of Lee, Kenny, Duck, Luke and everyone else nodding and cheering me on. "I'm gonna give these people a home, and we're gonna make things right."

Standing up and starting to walk away from this place for good, I notice a semi-deflated soccer ball sitting near the door and grasp it in my hands. This would at least bring Ellie a little bit of joy, and could potentially make up for her not getting a visit from Santa Claus this year. I'm thinking that Santa doesn't exactly get around very much with all that's been going on.

Hell, maybe he and his reindeer all got eaten by walkers or something. He's certainly got a lot of meat on him…

"I'll admit kid, I admire your optimism," she hollers as I stop in my tracks. "…but why don't you just finish me off? It'd be so fucking easy for ya. After all the shit I did to your group… to your friends… why don't you take that gun out of your pocket and pop me right in the noggin? Go ahead, nobody's around to stop you this time. Do it."

My fingers lightly trace over the hilt of my weapon as I strongly considering doing what she requests. Things would be much simpler among us survivors, and it'd definitely put a lot of minds at ease. Plus with the fact that it sounds as if she _wants _me to end her life, would there really be any backlash?

I could do this; get my revenge on this shithead and bring justice to Lilly, Bo and everyone else she wronged… possibly even for Zayne, in a strange and morbid way.

…no.

"That right doesn't belong to me," I say before hurrying back out to the front, whistling for Alden to come and bring Kazuki over to finish the job, but he's simply leaning up against a soccer post. The guy has to lift his leg up almost like a dog taking a piss just to not put pressure on it. "Alden?" I frown. "What's the matter? Where's – "

"She spotted Joshua coming out of hiding. I tried to stop her, Clem – really, I did!" Alden insists, gesturing to his wounded ankle to prove his point. "But Kaz… she's gone after him, Clem. She's trying to kill him. What do we do?"

"…I'm going after her," I remark, noticing that most of the group (save for a few stragglers) have already gone to do the same. I really doubt that Kazuki's rage alone will be enough to keep this a fair fight. "You keep an eye on that door – I'll bring her back with me. Vengeance or not, guys… after today, we're going home."

* * *

_AN: And that's another chapter down, my peeps! Thank you so much for the feedback last time, it was really encouraging to see that even after all this time, you guys are still putting up with my slacker bullshit :3 _

_Guest: I'm not entirely sure how I'd want Jane and Kenny to go, to be honest. Knowing Telltale and how much they seem to love Kenny (no offense to those who love him as well), I would only assume that they'd have him go out like a hero – either fighting off impossible odds with walkers or bandits or worse, all in an effort to save Clem and AJ._

_Jane, on the other hand, I'd imagine would either become ambiguous and get an unknown status like Christa and Lilly by getting separated, or will intentionally separate from Clem and AJ to make sure that they've got a chance. I just don't see her sacrificing her own life for them, despite how close they might be depending on your playthrough. Ignoring the fight with her and Kenny (because I think it's out of character for her to bet her life all on whether or not the man's gonna crack like a firecracker), I don't think Jane would normally put herself at risk like that._

_I guess only time will tell though, right? What are your guys' predictions for season 3 when it comes out next year? And did you guys know that they're giving us a DLC this year (summer, hopefully) that's supposed to be even bigger than 400 Days? Lemme know what you think!_

_That's all, party people! Have an awesome weekend when it comes, and stay classy, my friends XD_

_Leafs Nation_


	26. Ours is a world on fire

_**Bo's POV**_

Wandering down the empty hallways of the Houston Space Centre makes me ponder the actual meaning of our meager existence. We barely get by out here – every single day being a struggle to live and actually make something of ourselves. Sure, the walkers may have largely dissipated from our surrounding area, with the occasional pack roaming in from the countryside or one of the other major cities in Texas, but the threat always remains.

Just because you think the danger has passed doesn't mean that an even bigger one isn't waiting for you on the horizon. Hell, just think back to that girl Ellie was with years back… _Riley_. One slip-up and she had been killed by some asshole trying to break into this place.

Sometimes I wonder if we humans have become even worse than the walkers.

It certainly wouldn't be too far of a stretch to make that kind of claim. People can be brutal and merciless, sacrificing all sense of morals and cutting all personal ties just to get a leg up on the competition. Roamers may be hungry for flesh, but that's all they know – they can be avoided and tracked down. People can change their minds on the fly without any warning.

People can disappoint you, and do horrible things to each other that you'd never even see coming. People can _murder _others of their own kind. Until I see a walker start to try and eat one of the other countless dead roamers out there, maybe I can retract my statement.

Until then, I will likely be severely disappointed in what we've done to survive.

Sure, James and I aren't saints, and anybody could see that. We've messed up before, had our fair share of mistakes that we try our best not to regret, but all of it was for a far greater cause. By destroying lives, we've been trying at the same time to _save _lives.

But some, and I won't start pointing fingers until I can at least try and get a confession, have just been taking lives away to suit their own needs. I'm not sure if James really buys what I've been telling him about Clementine's activities, but surely he can at least see that some things just aren't adding up. We had the entire facility locked down on the night of Zayne's death, and there was absolutely no way that a walker could've possibly gotten inside while remaining undetected. The bite mark wasn't even cold when we saw the body, and wasn't anywhere close to being as vicious and bloody and brutal as it should've been.

Besides, where was this supposed _walker_ hiding out anyways? Nobody found any evidence of there being one – we had all just taken Clementine's account without any questions asked. Nobody would've expected that the "leader" would be capable of something like this.

And one way or another, I'm going to find out why. No more stalling, no more avoiding the cold, hard facts. I want answers.

"Aww shit…" I swear quietly, not having noticed where I was walking and accidentally stepped on the portrait of the space centre's founder. I never figured out the name, but he seemed to be a pretty important figure back in the day, and I'd have to thank him for helping establish such a well-protected settlement. It's a lot better than wandering about across the state.

Feeling as though it's a little disrespectful for me to leave the picture to be further trampled upon, I place the dinner (more like slop) that I had made for Scott on a table as I try lifting the thing with one hand. It's a total pain in the ass, but somehow I manage to get just enough leverage underneath it that I can slide it upright and lean the old frame up against the wall.

There, now it looks more like a shrine.

A dull yet throbbing pain resides in my chest as I try to cough out whatever bug it is that I've been having lately. It almost feels like there's a boulder lodged into my lungs at certain points, which is a bit nerve-wracking to think about, but at the start I was sure that it was nothing my body couldn't overcome with a little TLC. Obviously, if these recent spasms are any indication, that's not the case.

I hadn't said anything about it to anyone, but the pain has been getting progressively worse over the past several weeks. Honestly, I didn't want anyone to start worrying about my welfare, having always been a man who prided myself on my independent nature. I had been more capable than most around here in the beginning, and actually felt a little bit of enjoyment in knowing that I was able to help people in need.

That all changed once the arm was chopped, I suppose. Nothing's the same anymore… people take one look at me and see nothing more than a cripple, with nothing to contribute to the group other than fill up space. They might not say it to my face, but I know. God knows I do.

Coughing into my sleeve again, I try to muscle out the last stretch over to Scott's room – or, according to him, his holding cell. Just a few more steps to go.

"Scott? You decent?" I knock three times, coughing to the side again as a muffled reply just barely squeaks through the cold, metallic frame of the door. Taking that as acceptance, I shoulder my way inside a moment later and slightly cringe at the musty smell in here. Whether it's from dirty clothes or leftover food I'm not one hundred percent sure, but clearly this place hasn't been cleaned for a while. "Hey… just wanted to know if you were hungry. James ain't the best cook, but he tried, I guess. That's something."

Not even bothering to shrug his shoulders at that, Scott emotionlessly stares at the blank wall in front of him; completely devoid of any cognitive function other than breathing. I poke him in the shoulder a little to make sure that he hasn't completely lost it, but I can sort of see why he would – this whole room is depressing. His whole predicament with Luna and Jake certainly hasn't helped his case either.

Quietly encouraging him to pick up the spoon, I gently nudge the bowl of oatmeal (tasteless, mind you) towards his lap. "Come on, Scott. Eat something. Get something into your stomach," I advise, knowing firsthand just how important it is to get your meals while they're still available to you. That incident at the mall had left scars in more ways than just a severed hand.

"…are you here to kill me?"

Frowning, I lean up against the door as I shake my head and struggle to keep my breathing problem under wraps. "Of course not," I tell him, even though I was debating it earlier with James. Killing under our roof isn't tolerated no matter what, but this could be a special circumstance if looked at under a microscope. "Hell, if I was going to do something, I think I'd use a loaded gun. Poisoning your oatmeal seems a bit cowardly, don't you think?"

Not finding the joke nearly as funny as I do, Scott lowers his gaze to his lap as he clutches a pillow in between his hands; squeezing tightly and then letting go seconds later in a continuous manner.

Alright, not the time for laughs, Bo. Focus – he's in a lot of pain right now.

"I know that I wasn't there and can't properly judge for myself, but thinking back on it now… you probably did the right thing," I sigh as my breath becomes more and more laborious with each passing minute, something that Scott starts to notice. Shit. "Luna was… _cough-cough! Blech! _…she… she had to have been… the most…"

"Bo," Scott interrupts me, no doubt out of concern for my welfare, "look at your sleeve… I think you need help."

Curiosity getting the better of me, I glance down and twist my arm a little to see that something indeed may be wrong with me. The red stains on my white and grey flannel shirt are a dead giveaway.

It's just a hunch, but I'm pretty sure that coughing up blood is a bad thing.

"Well, damn," I mutter, wiping a thin layer of saliva off of my face, "I was just planning on taking a special someone out to dinner in this, too. Fancy that, huh?"

"Let me come with you, we'll go get James and – "

"You're staying right where you are," I tell him, not giving Scott the chance to rebuttal as I shake my head and block his path. "Just… don't worry about me, alright? I'll go find him myself and… and get this all sorted out. I'm sure it'll be nothing."

Looking terribly unconvinced, Scott tilts his head to the side in concern as he folds his arms together. Either he looks terribly worried about me, or he's simply disappointed at the prospect of having to stay locked in his room for any more time than what he already has to. The guy could at least open the curtains if he wanted to, Jesus…

"If you say so…"

"I do," I nod to him, repeating myself as I try reassuring the boy that I'll be fine. He's got a good heart in him, and I know that he cares enough to do the right thing when it calls for it… but my health is my own concern. Not his, not anybody else in this giant metal box that we call home other than the one guy I know that could potentially help me.

Closing the door tightly shut behind me, I wheeze once more as I try to clear whatever ailment I may have out of my system. Hopefully the news isn't as bad as it feels right now.

* * *

_**Jane's POV **_

"Keep looking! We can't lose the trail, or she's fucked!" Racheal hollers from a ways down the road, looking for any sign of where she could've gone off to. Way to sound optimistic there… Really sparking some team motivation.

But is she entirely wrong? The girl dashed off like a whirlwind as soon as she spotted Joshua without giving any thought to telling us, and it hadn't taken long for the two of them to escape our sights. Once they started to run past the remaining walkers out in the soccer fields over here, they basically vanished into thin air. There's too much carnage around to move fast enough or to even see properly – not with the bodies having been stacked on top of each other for cremation.

Getting slightly agitated, seeing's how we probably should've been heading back to the vehicles at Hunter's Retreat by now, I elicit a low growl from the back of my throat as I simply shove a walker to the side and keep moving forward; not even bothering to put a knife to the back of its head this time. How did the day come where dead men and women walking around were the _least _of our worries?

"Lilly, just leave him! We don't have the time!" I groan, watching as she ignores my request and makes sure that Ellie's standing behind her. With one swift kick to its head, Lilly takes her fire axe and chops straight into its brain. The beast squirts out dark blood matter like a popped jelly donut.

Dislodging her weapon, Lilly barely breaks a sweat before turning around to check on Ellie. Grr… doesn't she realize that we have more important things to worry about right now than killing walkers?! "One less to worry about," she remarks, looking confused as I shoot her a small glare. "What?"

"Didn't you hear me? Kaz is missing, and you wasting your energy isn't gonna help! Why can't you just listen to me?"

"I don't think this is the best time, Jane…" she mutters, brushing past me as Ellie timidly follows behind. She's never enjoyed it when Lilly and I fight like this, but it's not as if our bickering is anything new. We've been doing it for years – she should just be thankful that we're not trying to kill each other anymore!

…damn, it sounds pretty brutal when I say it like that…

"Lilly, wait…" I say, sounding more and more like a hypocrite as I try to make it up to her a little back. However, I feel slightly discouraged when she doesn't even turn her head back to face me.

Instead, she ends the life of yet another undead being before kicking the severed head down the pathway; annoyed as the trail has gone cold.

"Shit…" she murmurs, placing her hands on her hips and trying to figure out exactly where we are right now.

* * *

_**Kazuki's POV **_

After all that he's done… all the threats, all the lies, all the hurt and manipulation… this is it. I'm finally going to get this asshole once and for all. This is personal, yes, but it's also not just about me. This is for everyone that this guy has screwed over and tormented over the years.

One way or another, Joshua is going to die tonight.

I'm not sure if he realizes that I'm right on his ass, since it seems like he doesn't really plan on stopping for anything. The man's on the run – not from the law, but from the justice that he knows will be served to him if somebody from his camp catches him. He mutilated his leader, and left his ship without a captain to guide it to shore. Whatever shred of loyalty and humanity he may have had has been totally shredded to bits, and he has chosen the coward's way out: running for his ever-loving life, and crippling those that remain by taking the remaining food and supplies from his former survivors. He's turned into a literal form of the Grinch, except I don't think he can bounce back from this. Not without being completely exterminated.

And despite all his planning and plotting, the guy has made a mistake. A very dire and grave mistake, indeed.

For you see, he didn't happen to notice that there was a hole in the bottom of his bag of goodies – big enough to allow a flare gun to fall right through, along with a few other dried goods.

This isn't going to be quick and painless, which at this point in the ball game is something I'm not too worried about. I don't need to be the bigger person, I just need to kill him.

Let's see if I can roast this chicken alive.

My footprints have been tracking in the dirt and mud behind me, so hopefully I'll be able to find my way back after this is all over. Sure, I need to make certain that Joshua can never hurt anyone ever again, but a big part of me just wants to turn around and head back home. That's what we were planning on, wasn't it? That we would all go home as a family together? Jane and Clem must've secured the cars at some point, so I would imagine so.

But seeing my target still out in front of me gives me more of a resolve to end this than to turn a blind eye. Huffing and puffing as the weight of his stolen supplies starts to weigh him down, Joshua trips slightly as we come into a clearing; revealing a small, wooden shack that would almost look out of place if not for the weathered sign still implanted on the front.

_Jenny's Convenience _is what it reads, although the letters have largely been faded to the point of it almost being unrecognizable. It's a really small building with on a few windows, a busted door and some creaky, broken front steps.

Taking my chances as he chooses to retreat there, looking rather relieved as he sees it for himself, I pull out an actual pistol that I had on me for emergencies, take aim… and sigh as the fool gets trapped at the foot of the stairs. In his haste, he failed to realize how unsteady and brittle the wood had become and mangled up his leg as he fell straight through.

Clenching his teeth and almost whimpering as he struggles to move out of his captivity, I silently start to walk out from amongst the trees – a gun in each hand as I can feel a vein pulsing from behind my eyepatch.

Standing perfectly still for a moment, I lower the flare gun to the ground as I whistle for the bastard to turn around.

"Hello, Joshua…"

As soon as he hears my voice, the maniac smirks and chuckles before leaning his head back and shaking his head. "So… you followed me all the way out into the sticks, is that it? Should've figured as much," he mentions, turning to face me just as I cock the slot of my gun back. "You and I were always destined to – "

Instantly cut off as a bullet goes zipping through the air, Joshua howls in intense pain as my shot rips through his arm and tears a part of his tricep clean off. Blood coats down his arm as he keels over and calls me brutal names over and over again.

"ARRRGHHH! YOU ONE-EYED FUCK! YOU FUCKING WHORE!" he swears as I put a finger to my lips.

"Shh…" I tell him, dropping the pistol to the ground as I swap it for the orange flare gun. "It's my turn to speak now."

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"Kaz?!" I shout out loud, cupping my hands around my mouth to form a makeshift loudspeaker as my voice echoes throughout the air. I haven't seen anyone that I know out here yet, choosing to avoid the men and women who were staying here altogether for right now. I'm still not exactly sure if everyone's chilled out around here just yet, so why take the chance, right?

Feeling a little squeamish as an undead hand moves out underneath a pile of corpses, with the fingers still twitching and lashing out in search of some prey to chow down on, I hop over it and set my sights on the soccer net; still lodged in place even after years of neglect. The once white goal posts have slowly started to rust, since there hasn't been anyone around to keep up the maintenance on it. It's kind of sad, really, seeing a soccer field in such disrepair and ruin. Despite not really liking the sport as a child, and really only playing because my parents enrolled me, I actually kind of miss it a little bit.

Still clutching the deflated ball in my armpit, I bring it up to my hands as I squint my eyes and try to make out a shape just beyond the field – or should I say three shapes, since Kelly, Marcus and Katie are all up ahead doing a search of their own.

_Follow them, sweet pea. They'll probably have a better lay of the land than you will right now, _Lee advises me as I simply accept the fact that I'm likely never getting rid of this affliction. When he mentioned a long time ago how we'd always be together no matter where we ended up, I didn't exactly picture that it'd be like _this_.

"No kidding…" I mumble, finding the strength back in my legs as I carry myself forward. Upon noticing my arrival, Kelly and Katie wave me over as Marcus takes a knee in thought. "I heard about Kazuki," I explain, failing to hide the slight worry in my voice as Kelly lightly places her hand upon my shoulder. "Did you guys see where she went? Alden told me you all split up to look for her. Is she alright?"

"One question at a time, there," Katie tells me with a smirk, pointing her thumb over to Marcus as he rubs his hands over something in the dirt. "Mr. Archaeologist over here thinks he's found some kind of clue – Kaz ran like the wind when she spotted the dude, but he thinks we might be on the right track. Ain't that right, Corn-Flakes?"

Rolling his eyes at the nickname and knowing fully well that she's making fun of his hair, Marcus beckons for us to come closer as he points out something in the mud. "Tracks are leading this way," he mentions as we look out in front of us. "See? The leaves are all trampled on and pointing to the left. If they're as fresh as I think they are, then that's probably where she'll be."

"How can you be sure? What if they belong to a walker?" Kelly genuinely asks as Marcus shakes his head.

"They'd be a lot more staggered and dragged onwards – these tracks look human to me. Definitely is our girl."

Going with his lead, since it's really the only one that we've had thus far, the four of us hope over a chain-link fence as I nearly cut myself on one of the sharper edges. Cursing silently as a part of my jacket is torn off and left to hang against the wind on top of the fence, I ignore it and keep on heading forwards with the rest of our separated group.

Wanting to keep the tone a bit lighter, even though deep inside she's still hurting over the loss of Elliot, Kelly cracks a faint smile as she slows down so that I can catch up. Curse my stubby legs! "You know, after this whole mess is sorted out with," she mentions, causing me to look up at her for a brief moment, "I think we all deserve a nice, long vacation. Let's go to an island or something… how about Cuba or the Dominican? Somewhere nice and warm!"

Chuckling as she gets in on the action, Katie keeps starts to lag behind Marcus as he starts to get a bit of a distance on us. "We live in Houston, you do realize that, don't you? It's warm almost all year round!"

"I've never been there before…" I trail off as I think about all of the things that I never got to do since all of this began. Perhaps one day, when things have calmed down a little bit, then we'll all be able to visit one of those places.

I'd gladly give up leadership of the Fireflies if peace could actually be restored around here.

"You'd probably love it, Clem. Warm, sandy beaches, crystal blue ocean water, margaritas as far as the eye can see…" Kelly laughs brightly. "Although, I'm pretty sure you'd love the last part even more if you were at the drinking age. We had awesome weather when I went back then. Why, just the other day I was thinking about it, you know? If it weren't for all of this, and I had actually known the guy beforehand, I may have… actually invited Elliot to come with me…"

Squeezing her hand in support as I toss the soccer ball away, Kelly sighs before smiling sadly. "He would've loved to go with you, too – I know it," I tell her as the woman tries to keep it all together. We need everyone to be on red alert and at the top of their game in order to keep each other safe, no matter how much we might be hurting.

We're gonna have time to mourn our losses later… I need to believe that Kelly can bounce back from this.

"Yeah…" she nods, feeling a few stray tears leak down her cheeks as she quickly wipes away the evidence. "Thanks, Clem."

Noticing the sob story that we're producing back here, Katie bites her tongue and stares straight ahead again, not realizing that I had just seen her do so. Sometimes I have to wonder about her… hasn't she ever had somebody that she truly cared about in her life before? I'd like to think so, but she always either talks to us in a snarky way, or just acts like she doesn't really give a crap at all.

And what's worse is that she, on numerous occasions I might add, has tried to drag me down to the same mentality at times. Trying to get me to help steal Luna's helicopter, bringing me aside and mentioning how I shouldn't be so trusting of Jane and Lilly, trying to show me how to get leverage over certain people in the group by holding guilt trips over their heads… what's her ultimate goal, here?

It almost seems as though she wants me to become more like Tracy than anyone else.

Stopping for a second as we reach a creek, I nearly bump into Katie as Marcus darts his head left and right.

"Where'd they go, Marcus?" Katie insists, not bothering to hide her annoyance as we stop in the middle of nowhere. "You said that you knew where the tracks were leading. I thought you were trained for this sort of thing! Weren't you a cop?"

"Never got out of college, smartass…" he snaps back, biting his lip as he tries to search for any clues to their whereabouts. "But umm… uhh… Just gimme a minute here, alright? I'll find something, just help me look…"

It's only a few moments later that we turn our gazes to the sky, watching as a bright flare pops up in the distance.

* * *

_**Kazuki's POV **_

Incapacitated, there is almost nothing that Joshua can do as I slowly take a few steps forward. Come what may, either walkers or my friends, neither of that matters. I'll take either one, since I'm just about to finish this man off and hurt him the same way that he used to hurt me. All those long nights spent getting beaten back at Tracy's camp years ago, and then more recently when he threatened to kill me if I didn't cooperate – I never thought that I would be able to control my _own _wellbeing. My fate was always in the hands of somebody else, whether I had a say in it or not.

And now look at this punk. Sniveling on the ground like a rat in a trap. I wonder what he's thinking about right now in that sick, twisted brain of his. Is he sorry for the cruel punishments that he dished out? Is he repentant about the dozens of lives he neglected or destroyed in order to try and get ahead? Does he even care about any of these things?

No, I sincerely doubt it. And there's not a damn thing he can do to shake that belief from me.

"Do you honestly think anyone's coming out here to save you?" he hisses, nearly choking on his own words as he tries to keep himself from bleeding out. "How did you not get this through your thick fucking skull? Those people don't give a shit about you… we're in the same boat, you and I. We… we've both been neglected…"

"You tortured me for fun."

"And look where you are now, huh? Way better off than the spineless, little princess that you were before…" he croaks, chuckling madly while he does so. "If it wasn't for those sessions, you wouldn't even be here right now! You grew up and saw what you'd have to become to live out in a world like this! You _survived _because of me!"

Finding it disturbing how he can actually firmly believe in what he's saying, I stagger and lose myself for just a second as Joshua picks up on the hesitation almost instantly.

Holding out his uninjured arm as blood trickles onto the wooden staircase, he simultaneously tries to talk me down while also trying to break out of his prison. "You won't kill me, Kazuki… I know you better than you know yourself. I made you who you are today…" he tries to drill into my head, but my revenge won't be stopped here. "I'll go – somewhere far away, Kaz, I promise! You'll never see me again… and none of you will have to worry about me coming back."

The flare gun, still having a couple of shots left in it, shakes in my grasp as I contemplate his words. The fucker is lying, I know he is! He's never been honest with me in his entire life!

"Just let me… let me go… I need to find her… I need to look for Anne…"

No way… even after all this time, it's _still _been about finding her…

"You've wanted her dead all these years," I accuse, knowing that I hit the nail right on the head as he lowers his eyes. "It's always been about her, hasn't it? The same girl you grew up with… and all you've ever wanted to do is track her down…"

"Yes," he openly admits, revealing his deep, dark secret to me after nearly four years of knowing him. "I couldn't let it go, alright? She… she was the love of my life… and she fucked me over, so… so badly… That's why I take it out on people – I've fucked up before, I know that! But… but you don't understand… _Nobody _understands!"

Having heard the details of this "Anne" girl before in a passing conversation a while back, I can't help but picture the girl in my head. From what I've heard, the depiction is scarily similar to me – one eye missing from some asshole with a knife.

More specifically, _this asshole_.

"…I'm not letting you leave."

"C-come on, Kazuki… this is all I've ever wanted! Once I find her I can just… stop this! All of this shit! I can change!"

"I don't believe you," I shake my head, glancing down at the flare gun to make sure that it's fully loaded. Joshua's face whitens considerably as I see him gulp in nervousness. "I used to trust you, remember? When I first got to your place. You even showed me around and introduced me to people… but then I started to see the monster that you really were," I point out, glowering at him as I face my demons. "I'm not running away this time. I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else."

Seeing him break down like this and practically plead for his life after watching him eliminate countless others is truly pathetic, but this is for all of them. So much for his tough guy reputation.

"_PLEASE!" _he begs with me, looking incredibly nervous as I raise the flare gun up in front of me; ignoring the other cries from some of my peers as Clementine starts running out towards me.

Pulling the trigger, I watch as Joshua lays there helplessly. The shot is a direct hit at the dry wood of the shack, quickly igniting into flames as he squirms and tries to get out of the way of the burning mess.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore."

His terrified screams mix with the sound of crackling wood as his clothes start to catch on fire; quickly incinerating his hair as his skin starts to boil and the rest of his body gets engulfed in flame. I feel ashamed for doing this to a person… but this man can no longer even be considered as a human being. He lost that title a long time ago.

Without even a shred of resistance, I let myself fall to the floor as Clementine roughly tackles me from the side, pulling out a gun and shooting the burning, flayed man right in the head; ending his suffering and preventing him from turning into a walker.

"Help me get her back to the trucks – keep a gun trained on her at all times," Clementine mentions, although I'm sure she's only doing this for my own good. That whole scene probably just made me look as messed up as he was. "…Let's just get out of here…"

* * *

_**Bo's POV **_

"Can I take this thing off now?" I complain, having sat up on a doctor's bench for a good chunk of the afternoon. Despite appreciating that he'd take the time to do all of this, and the fact that I was positively surprised that he could actually operate a CT scan with some of the power being back online, it doesn't change the fact that I've had to wear a heavy cover over my chest for the past hour or so.

Picture it as a giant baby bib, and you might get the idea of how ridiculous this looks on me.

"Not until I've finished taking notes," he mentions, jotting down a few more signs as I open my mouth widely. Sticking a popsicle stick on the roof of my tongue, he takes a swab of my DNA supposedly and places it into a plastic bag to study later. What the hell would I do without this man, seriously…

Hearing a _ding _from the monitor over on his right, James swivels in his chair as he stretches out his back and slides over towards the screen. I honestly can't remember the last time that I had a medical examination like this, simply because I was generally a pretty healthy guy growing up. I played football in high school (though generally I was on the bench from my lack of athletic talent), worked out when I could, and typically ate pretty healthy except for the weekends if there was a party or something to go to.

So why, then, have I been feeling so shitty lately? Why did it have to kick in around this time?

"…how long have you been smoking for, Bo?"

Puzzled as to why he would ask such a thing, my stomach slowly churns a little bit as I shrug my shoulders. "Ehh… probably nine or ten years now, I'd say. Not nearly as much anymore since they're so hard to come by, obviously," I admit, forgetting about that one detail because cigarettes have just been a part of my life. I never really questioned anything about it before. "Why do you ask?"

Staring at my face for a little while, looking as though he almost wants to keep something a secret, James stays silent as he studies the monitor behind his glasses. My friend looks deeply saddened as I, against the doctor's orders, hop off the examination table and walk over to the screen.

My heart drops to the pit of my stomach as I see a white blob hanging off in the darker section of my lungs. It can't be…

"That's an anomaly; an inflammation of some of the bronchi," he sighs deeply, spewing out his medical mumbo-jumbo as I grow internally frightened of the days to come. "It's also more commonly known as – "

"Cancer…" I conclude, felling James hold onto my hand as I struggle to deal with the news. "I have lung cancer…"

* * *

_AN: Holy shit, guys… this is my most reviewed story on this account, whether it be legitimate or not :) This is so huge, and I appreciate every single one of you for making this happen. You guys are my biggest inspiration to keep this story going, as you always have something kind or constructive to add to it. _

_Which is also why I'm debating on splitting this story into two parts when the time comes for it. You'll know when the first part of Madness is done, as not only will I tell you, but hopefully you guys will also be able to figure it out without even being told. How would you guys feel about something like that, though? I wouldn't be adding it into a new story, but simply re-titling this as Madness Parts 1 and 2. How about, when the time comes that this story is starting to conclude, I ask you guys again and see how people are feeling then? _

_So thank you so much, all of you, for making this achievement happen. You're all amazing, and I truly appreciate it._

_Ok, I don't know if the majority of the guest reviews were all the same person or not lol, since there were quite a lot that looked similar, but I'll try to answer some of your questions and comments._

_Thinking over it some more, I honestly don't think that Randy and his family are going to be a threat to Clem, Jane and AJ. After all, not only do he and Patricia have a son of their own, but they simply don't strike me as the kind of people who would trick them, try to kill those who gave them shelter and/or leave them with nothing. Honestly, if anything, maybe even Jane or Kenny themselves would be able to do something like that at this point, seeing's how they really had no family ties left, but Patricia? No, and I think Telltale showing the gun in Randy's pocket was just to try and scare people. He'd be stupid NOT to be carrying one on him, especially if Jane and Clem turned out to be bandits or something._

_And yes, people, they're making a DLC for the Walking Dead, and you'll likely be getting more info on that in the coming days (I think it's only like four or five days away now, come to think of it). Will it involve the three endings? I'm not entirely sure, because that would kind of exclude the people that didn't choose a particular ending. Let's say you picked the Jane ending, and you get a load on what happens in the meantime for the buildup towards season 3… but then what? It wouldn't make sense for you to have a DLC for an ending you never picked, because it won't affect your choice once the new season comes around. I'm thinking they're going to be introducing new characters, but that's just speculation from me. Nobody really knows for sure just yet, so be sure to look out for the announcement! _

_And no, I'm pretty sure the Lilly from the game isn't the same one from the TV show – possibly the comic book, but even then I'm not entirely certain. A friend of mine on here tried to explain it to me, but my head can be pretty thick sometimes so I'll need to look at his message about it again XD It would be pretty cool though, don't ya think? Lilly being the one to kill the Governor and everything :D _

_That's all for now, folks! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the reviews! I'm usually pretty decent at getting back to people, so… yeah. Thanks for reading!_


	27. Reconcile

_**Lilly's POV **_

"Bah… another dead end…" I groan, getting even further discouraged when I realize that we've actually come across this same exact dried-up pond at least three times by now. We've been going in circles trying to find out where that girl may have headed off to, and it seems that Racheal's been having pretty much the same bad luck.

We've been keeping the soccer fields on our left shoulder just so that we have a sense of where to regroup should we have to, but that's also meant that a lot of the wooded area around us is going to remain unexplored. Kazuki could be lying dead in a ditch and we'd have no idea.

I told Jane that Ellie and I would be a team and cover this area over here, but I'm not so sure that she was too pleased with the setup. In truth, it really was just so that I could get a small sliver of time to myself. I don't really know what it is, but Jane and I… we're not really _connecting _like we used to. There's something missing between us that we haven't been able to get back, and I can't exactly pinpoint the exact reason behind it. Is it me? Have I become… boring?

Maybe… maybe it's just a combination of the both of us not being as compatible any more. I don't know.

But lately, I've noticed that the spark we once had three years back has started to stagnate and decline. I still deeply care about her, and probably always will… but is it bad that I'm starting to lose some of those feelings towards Jane? Gah, I'm so confused!

"Are you okay?" Ellie suddenly asks me, confused as to why I've been standing here looking off into the distance for the past five minutes.

Trying to play it off as nothing, I quickly nod and fiddle around with my torn ear; placing a strand of hair overtop of it as I pick the fire axe back up.

"Yeah, bud… Just getting a little off-track, that's all."

"That's what Clemmy tells me sometimes, too," she explains, sounding adorable when she calls her _Clemmy_. They're gonna grow up to be so close-knit to each other, I swear. "I see her all the time looking up at the sky – she always says that her head's up in the clouds… but that's kind of a dumb thing to say, isn't it?"

Chuckling quietly, I turn back towards her as we prepare to head back to the soccer fields. You know it's bad when you have to take a child over to a place filled with dead or dying corpses because the alternative is even more dangerous – out in the open, we could be vulnerable to an attack from all angles. That's why it's always a better idea to be on the move whenever you're outside friendly territory.

And aside from our little base in Houston, it seems that the entire world is unfriendly territory.

"It's just an expression," I say to her, clarifying a bit more when she gives me a puzzled look. "It's something that people say when they aren't really paying attention to what's going on around them. Like… like if I was talking to somebody for a long time while walking, and wasn't watching where I was going as I smacked into a lamp post."

"Did that happen to you?"

"…maybe."

Giggling at my expense, Ellie covers her mouth and grins childishly as I can't help but snigger a little bit myself. Seeing the girl actually having a little bit of spark left in her is a really nice thing to witness – I was starting to worry that learning of her mother's death would cause her to collapse.

As soon as she had mentioned Clementine, however, most of my thoughts had started drifting away to our little _intervention _back in Houston. Mainly feeling a little dismayed at the prospect of Clem not fulfilling her part of the bargain and coming to us for weekly sessions, I can't help but wonder why she would choose to hide something like this from us for so long. Does she not have enough faith or trust in Jane and I to be able to actually talk about the voices in her head? Thinking like that is a little disturbing, if I'm being honest. It's making me obsess over the little details that she may be omitting in our conversations.

What else isn't she telling us?

Caught off guard a little as a lone walker wobbles its way over from the suburban homes, most likely looking to feed, I frown in concentration and grip the handle of the fire axe as if I'm going to war. One should be easy enough to deal with.

Taking a few steps forward, I'm surprised to hear Ellie's little voice behind me halting my progress.

"Can I do it?" she asks out of the blue, with me doing a double take to check if I just heard that right.

"Seriously?"

"Well… they try to hurt people, right? So… do shouldn't I try to get the monsters away?" she points out, making my head spin as I blink in astonishment a few times. Since when does Ellie, or any eight year old for that matter, actually _want _to kill one of these things? I don't even want to, and yet I'm killing things almost on a daily basis!

I can only internally debate with myself for so long, given that our undead chum has spotted us and will be upon the two of us pretty soon, so, against my better judgement, I slowly lower the axe to the ground before jogging back towards the redhead.

"We'll take him out together, then," I affirm, pulling a pistol out of my back pocket and holding it in my hands. "Don't worry about the noise – if there were a lot of those things around here, then they'd have already picked up the scent and been here hours ago. We're mostly in the clear on this one," I explain, watching as she gulps in anxiety, perhaps realizing that this might be a big first step. "Here," I hand her the weapon, making sure that she has the barrel facing downwards at the ground before briefly checking to make sure that our friend is still a ways away.

Instructing her on the proper, yet basic techniques of how to fire a pistol, I correct her posture a little bit and tell her not to hold her breath for too long. Just a short burst of it will be all that she needs to aim it correctly. We'll need more time for her to hone her skills to a further degree, but these things can't be rushed. Forgetting the basic safety maneuvers could be potentially life threatening.

Grasping her hands in mine as I bend down behind her, I tell Ellie to relax as the walker's hungry moans get louder. "Ready?" I ask, feeling her cheek brushing against mine as she nods her head. "On three then, we'll shoot this sucker down. One, two… three!"

Although we manage to land a direct hit on the target, it still isn't exactly enough; only managing to take out the walker's cheek as the chunk of flesh hangs off of his head in a grotesque manner. Unfortunately, and it shows, Ellie can't really un-see something like that.

Firing another shot that penetrates right through the skull, our team downs the undead foe as I pat Ellie on the back and start to search the guy's pockets. Hopefully our friend here is packing something useful.

"…damn, nothing but pocket lint…" I mutter, honestly not having expected much with him obviously being dead for such a long time. "Anyways, that's the idea, Ellie. We want to keep them as far away from us as possible if we can. This guy was just by himself though, so we can't get cocky, alright? But this was good for your first – "

"_Guys?!"_

"…attempt…" I trail off, knowing fully well that Jane isn't going to be mighty too happy with me. However, along with Racheal in tow, the rest of the missing crew has also come along for the ride. But for some reason, most of them look as if they had just seen a ghost. "Umm… everything cool, guys?"

Not getting a response from any of them, I watch as Katie sticks a loaded gun warningly up against Kazuki's back; eyeing her like a hawk as she keeps her mouth firmly closed. Marcus can't even crack a smile upon seeing Ellie and I, which is weird considering how damn cheerful he always seems to be. Kelly appears as though she'd just rather be anywhere but here, and Clem… Clem just looks… _disappointed_.

It's obvious that I'm not going to be getting any clear answers at the moment, but I get the feeling that Kaz must have really done some bad shit to get into this mess.

Upon glancing over at the walker with a skeptical glance, I sigh deeply as I try to explain things to Jane. "Ellie and I handled it – I was just showing her how to use a gun properly."

Waiting until everyone else is out of earshot as they head back towards Alden and the rest of their camp, Jane brings me to the side as Ellie just kind of stands there awkwardly; unsure of what to do.

"Couldn't you have given it a rest with the walkers? Hasn't she gone through enough shit for one week? Haven't we _all_?" Jane lists off question after rhetorical question, but I won't break under the pressure. Just like old times, I'll stand my ground and make sure that I get my valid argument across to her. "That gunshot could've drawn out more of them – you know that! What's more, how can you be sure that we won't need those when we head back home?"

"We checked every nook and cranny of this area – it was clear. And besides, she'd have to learn this at some point or another. What better example than dealing with the real thing?" I point out, despite realizing that she has some valid concerns of her own.

Running a hand through her shortened hair, Jane shakes her head in annoyance and pokes me right in the chest. This means war, apparently.

"What the hell is happening with you, Lilly? This isn't like you!" she exclaims, getting all up in my grill as I can hear her concern coming through in her tone. "You've never been one to take risks like this…"

"No, that's usually _your _department. But sometimes… sometimes it's necessary, Jane," I rebuke, feeling the strength in our relationship start to wane as we argue for about the billionth time. Usually, it's just friendly banter going back and forth, but these kind of heated debates haven't really been a common occurrence over the past few years; not since when we had first met each other back at Howe's Hardware. "Just… would you just get off my ass about this? Look, Ellie's fine, and we got the job done. I don't need a lecture about this right now."

Seemingly sensing that she needs to back off a little bit, Jane takes a couple of steps back; looking as if she's about to say something, but then swiftly shutting her mouth closed and frowning at me.

"Don't make me be the one to bury you… I don't know if I could handle that," she whispers, leaving me temporarily speechless as she motions for Ellie to walk with her back to Ranger's Grove where the rest of the crowd is awaiting us.

Meanwhile, as I watch their figures slowly get smaller and smaller as they get farther away from me, I contemplate the meaning behind those words. Out of context, that could almost sound to a passerby that Jane had actually wanted to _kill _me, but I know that's not what she meant at all.

Jane thinks that I've grown reckless – reckless and foolhardy. In my mind, this couldn't be further from the truth. Ellie had _wanted _to learn, and I knew at that moment that teaching her to defend herself would be the best option, especially considering all of that craziness with David that I had heard about.

I don't want to throw my life away. Not now, not after finding a place in this world where I actually fit in and can make a positive difference. No… I can't be wrong about this. Perhaps it's just the Caul stubbornness kicking into high gear, but I'm not wrong.

_Jane _is.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

Look at this place. Nothing but a disease-ridden, body-filled slaughterhouse with almost no hope of it ever returning to its former state. These poor folks are seriously considering living in a place like this? They may as well just abandon the soccer field altogether!

"We need to help them," Kelly whispers as some of my fellow comrades nod in agreement. It looks as though they've changed their tune pretty quickly after the dust settled. "Isn't there something we can do? There's barely any food around here, and good luck with waiting for these guys to try and settle on anything. I mean… just look at them."

Most of the remaining residents of Ranger's Grove are either lazing around here, licking their wounds and looking deeply confused – mainly about what they're supposed to do with their lives now that their camp is in such disarray. For some, this place is all they've ever known aside from their own houses, and to try packing up and leaving without a real destination must be so nerve-wracking.

A bunch of the men and women still look extremely hostile, glaring at us intensely as they clutch their weapons close to their chests. They've definitely figured out that Tracy is still locked away inside, and are just itching to get a crack in at her. I can't believe that I actually kind of feel _bad _for Tracy, especially with all of the harm she had inflicted upon our group.

Then again, after seeing Kazuki basically torch a guy to death, it's not exactly hard to see why.

As about ten to fifteen residents start to head towards the office building behind us, getting blocked as a bunch of us raise our guns out warningly and snap at them to back off, I know that the time to step in is now.

With Jane and Lilly to help back me up, even though they appear to be at odds with each other, I clear my throat and step in front of a great brute of a man; causing him to laugh as I frown up at him.

"Out of the way, pipsqueak!" he tells me, yet I just step in front of him again and hold my arms out to try and block him. "Look, kid, this ain't about you, alright? That bitch in there fucked us all in the ass after she promised that we'd have a better life, and she fucking lied straight to our faces! Now either get out of the way, or get prepared to be mauled to death!"

Whistling for Marcus to stand down upon hearing those threats, I fold my arms together and shake my head. "Tracy's been through enough – killing her won't bring the people you lost back to you."

In response, the great big lug of a man grasps me firmly by the collar of my jacket before tossing me to the ground and paving the way closer towards the office building; leading to a heated argument with our own people as Racheal, Katie and Alden all start throwing insults and threats their way.

Jane's got a hand on the hilt of her hunting knife just in case, but I motion for her to back off as Ellie helps me to my feet. Smiling sweetly at her, I pat my little protégé on the arm tenderly as I glance at the impending mob; having broken through our ranks as more of this camp start to join in. Tracy must be shitting herself right about now.

Getting annoyed with their rowdy, obnoxious behaviour, Lilly places four fingers up to her lips as she whistles extremely sharply. "EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" she bellows as slowly but surely, some of their group start to turn around.

The big guy and his cronies, though? Nope, they keep on banging against the door, not realizing that Alden has actually had the key to the room this whole time.

"We don't have to keep fighting each other anymore!" I exclaim, wanting this to be as peaceful as possible. "Enough blood has been spilled this week as it is! You can't keep blaming one person for all of your problems, guys! That's… that's just stupid!"

"Oh yeah?!" asks an obviously distraught woman, trying to voice the raging, desperate thoughts of her friends. "And what the hell would you know about this shit, huh?! Look at you, riding into town like a sheriff coming to save the fucking day… Don't act like you're taking the moral high ground here, missy!"

"We're all in the same community now…" I disagree, shaking my head and holding firm in my belief. "There's no reason for any of us to try and kill each other over our differences. Our real enemy is out _there_, out in the wastes! If we try shooting each other, then the walkers have already won!"

Having captured the attention of pretty much everyone except for the guy who shoved me at this point, he turns around slowly as his face flushes crimson from embarrassment. Was that really so hard for him to do?

Giving her input, Jane steps up to the plate next as I look over in pride. She's come so far from being the lonely, isolated woman that I had met back at Howe's, and I'm actually pretty glad to see this change come through. She's finally seen the benefit of having people watch over your back, even though it practically took parts of her fingers, her life and some of her sanity in order to crack that message through her skull.

"She's right," Jane agrees, standing next to Racheal as she stays relatively quiet. "There's no sense in shooting up the place just to get some kind of revenge. That can _destroy _someone, and you don't want to fall any further than you've already sunk. You guys need to start rebuilding and thinking about your future – how are any of you supposed to live if this is what it's going to take to satisfy you all?"

Alden, from his spot along the wall and still holding up his ankle somewhat, chimes in next. "The way I see it, if you guys charge in there and rip her to pieces, then she's already gotten to you. Don't let her win," he mentions as Emily nods her head in support.

"Then what do you suggest?" asks a man looking to be in his late forties or so. "Do you expect us to just drop our guns and hold hands? Is that what you'd have us believe?"

Shaking my head, I speak up once again as I relay to them a plan that we (Jane, Lilly and I) have been cooking up for some time now. The inner council back at the space centre was actually good for something after all, apparently.

"One of the reasons that we came out here in the first place was to look for other survivors – people like _you_," I emphasize. "We've been trying to make contact with people from wherever we can… but you guys and the people at Hunter's Retreat have been the only big groups we've found in a long time. We want to get humanity rolling again."

"What part of the fucking undead apocalypse did you pricks not understand?!"

Getting a chorus of nods and yells thrown my way as one troubled soul voices his own opinion, Katie rolls her eyes and scoffs as Kelly tries to get her to keep her voice down.

But, as usual, Katie's got an opinion on just about everything.

"Call it what you want, but you've got either two options here. There's us, and the _dead_ – there's no in-between with this shit. Like it or not, we didn't come to this fucking place just to dick around. So why don't you listen to what the kid has to say instead of just flapping your gums like a bunch of assholes?" she deadpans, actually making me smirk slightly. I really didn't expect to hear Katie praise me like that, even if it was a pretty sarcastic way of doing so.

"Thanks, Katie," I nod appreciatively, before turning back to the crowd. "Look, our group is based out of Houston, Texas. We're all holed up in a base with walls, food and protection," I explain, trying my best not to get their hopes up for fear of some of them trying to attack once again. "Those houses you have over there? You can't just find something like that out of the blue – you've got something really special around here, and you can actually start building a community. We… we can trade with you! Food, supplies, medicine! We can get a system going here, and if we all work together to ration it properly, then we might never have to go hungry ever again!"

"…that's a damn big _maybe_," the gruff man says, although looking as if he wants to believe my words. "How… how do we know that this isn't some kind of trick? How do we know that you're not just gonna leave us here in the dust and not follow through on your so-called plan?"

Contemplating a suitable response that would be enough to satisfy their desire for peace and prosperity is proving to be quite a challenge, seeing's how most of them have been shit out of luck for quite a while now. They're close to starvation with little to no hope of renewal, and they need some sort of reassurance that things will turn out alright. I don't know for sure if I can provide that kind of support by myself.

However, after mulling it over for a few seconds, I put on a determined face and try my best. That's really all that I can ask for.

"There are never any guarantees… but what do any of us have to lose at this point?" I shrug, eliciting a few dry chuckles as I bring Ellie closer to my side. "All we can do is try our best, because we're this world's last hope. If we can't get things rolling again… then who will?" I continue, grasping onto Ellie's hand as she gives me a comforting squeeze. "We're the future now – it's up to us to bring ourselves back and make something of ourselves again. Today is when we stop just surviving… and start living."

* * *

Hours later, I'm sitting in the back seat of a pickup truck as Ellie's head rests on my lap; her body slowly bobbing up and down as she starts to gently pass out. I don't blame her – I'm about ready to fall asleep, too!

Glancing out the window as Lilly makes some last-minute arrangements with the elderly couple from Hunter's Retreat, who along with a handful of others have decided to try and move into some of the suburban dwellings over in Ranger's Grove, my eyes start to flutter as I absentmindedly stroke Ellie's forehead back and forth. Somehow, such a simple gesture has become enough to calm me down from all of the excitement.

"Pretty epic speech there, boss," Jane comments from the driver's seat, glancing at me with approval through the rear-view mirror.

I can't help but chuckle slightly in embarrassment, not being used to that kind of thing. It actually made me feel more like Lee than I ever thought it would. "Yeah? Well I kind of had that in my back pocket for a while now… I'd been thinking it up ever since we left this place," I tell her, feeling Ellie shuffle a little bit on my lap. "And we're a team, Jane. All of us. I'm nobody's boss…"

"Try telling the rest of them that, Clem. They all look up to you in some way or another – that display pretty much cemented the fact."

"…I don't like being in the spotlight…"

"Me neither, kiddo," she agrees, sighing as she rests her foot on the dashboard. Kenny had gotten angry with her the last time she did that. "But sometimes that's the role we were meant to play, right? Sometimes we all have to do things that we don't like… even when it hurts the people we care about…"

Knowing fully well that there's something going on between the two strong women that I've grown to care deeply for, I frown slightly as Jane stares longingly out the front window.

"Jane?" I ask, my voice quiet enough as to not disturb Ellie. "Are you and Lilly… fighting about something?"

"…it's complicated."

"That just means that you don't want to tell me."

"So maybe that means you shouldn't be asking then," she mutters sarcastically, sighing when I give her a knowing look. I'm not somebody that she can just brush to the side. "She's… I dunno, Clem. I still love her like crazy, but… lately I get the feeling that Lilly… maybe… maybe we'd actually be better off if we… if we…"

Waving it off, I slowly get the message as she bites her lip and huddles into herself; deep in thought as I try to sort through what this might mean. If Jane and Lilly were to split up… how would that affect the two of them, I wonder? I'll admit that I don't know very much about the concept, with my expertise mostly going towards killing walkers, survival techniques and trying to keep the peace (along with some pretty epic speeches, apparently), but if they're unhappy being with each other all the time, then wouldn't this be the best solution?

"…I want you both to be happy – that's all I really care about," I mention, watching as Lilly finalizes things with the elderly couple and slowly starts to walk around the side of the truck. "So when we get back… maybe you should tell her that. Maybe it's for the best."

Cutting myself off further as Lilly opens the door and steps inside, I briefly glance at Jane as rests her chin on her fist and stares out the opposite window. I guess that I'll find out whether they're still together in a few days' time.

Secretly, I've always liked the idea that Jane and Lilly have grown so close to each other. I know that not everyone really sees it that way, and claim that their relationship could potentially compromise the two of them from seeing straight (no pun intended).

But if the two of them want to be with each other and enjoy themselves amongst all of the crappiness and despair that we have to deal with every single day, then who are any of us to stand in the way of that?

"Tracy isn't coming… gave Emily some line about not wanting to live like that. If they break into the offices, then there's really nothing we can do…" Lilly explains as I nod my head slowly in acceptance, looking over at Kazuki who's in the seat next to Ellie and I. With how deathly quiet she's been, it would be easy to mistake her as not even being there at all. "Some of the people here are coming back with us in the other vehicles, so Racheal and Emily both have radios if we need to keep in touch with them."

"How many are we bringing back?" I inquire, curious as to whether or not we might end up having a capacity problem after all.

Counting in her head as she drums her fingers over her leg, Lilly pauses for a moment as Jane rolls down the window and sticks her head out. Shouting to the back compartment to ask if everyone's seated properly, Alden smacks his palm on the side of the truck as Jane starts the engine.

At least the truck we came with still has enough juice in it.

"Including us, I'd say about twenty-five or so," Lilly finalizes as I nod. That's a pretty decent number, and would be enough for now to at least fill our empty beds some more. The space that we have is going to waste, although I doubt that Luna, Jake and Scott will all see it that way. They probably had gotten back from Georgia days ago. "And we've set up that trading route – we had to finalize some details and give them some weapons for reimbursement, but they've mostly agreed. Some of them are farmers, and apparently there's a stretch of farm land just up the road for them to try and grow corn, soybeans, that sort of thing."

"That'd work perfectly," I tell her, feeling quite pleased at what we've all accomplished today. As Jane pulls the truck onto the dirt road, honking once to wave goodbye as Lilly once again pulls out the map, I glance out the window and gaze upon everything that we're leaving behind. We're going to have to assign people to be runners going back and forth in order for the trade routes to actually mean anything, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it'll end up being our pilots back home, but for once, I'd say that we've actually had a pretty happy ending for this week.

_You did good, sweet pea, _Lee praises me as I see his face faintly in the blue-coloured sky. _You did good._

* * *

_**Bo's POV**_

Knocking over and tossing whatever I can get my one remaining hand on, including old computers that don't work anymore, a couple staplers and various assortments of chairs, I try to vent my anger as James sits there and leaves me to my grief. He knows just as well as I do that out here, out in this space centre with no hope of therapy in sight, I've basically just been given a death sentence.

I don't care how childish it may seem, and I don't care if James can see the pissed off tears forming in my eyes as I keep screaming out to the heavens. This such bullshit, and the good doctor knows it too. I've already lost my arm, my family, my home and my friends… why would I be chosen to carry this burden? How could I have been so naïve?! So fucking naïve?!

Wearing myself out as I make a complete mess of the place, I sit down in the only other chair that remains as my shoulders shake in grief. Cancer… I should've known that it would come to this. My buddies always used to joke that I was practically invincible, and that absolutely nothing would be able to keep me down.

Well fellas, this might be just the thing to prove you all wrong.

"…I don't suppose that you've got a chemo lab on you by any chance?" I ask sarcastically, my heart sinking further as he shakes his head solemnly.

"No," James admits, "and the one in Houston is a dud with all the dead walking around…"

Leaning my head back in defeat, I slouch my shoulders as I let out a huge sigh. "Looks like I've punched my ticket then," I remark, not expecting my friend to immediately glare at me and smack me across the head. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

"Don't ever fucking say that again, you hear me? You're not giving up, Bo! I won't let you! We'll find a way!"

Not appreciating his optimism at the moment, I glare fiercely over at him before leaning forward and practically spitting hot fire in his face. "Oh really?!" I sarcastically exclaim. "Well why don't you go ahead and tell me then, James? Go for it! Go right the fuck ahead, because I'm more than willing to listen to suggestions! Go ahead, I'm all fucking ears!"

Holding up a finger, James actually twirls in his swivel chair back to his desk as he practically barrels through a various assortment of papers, most of which appear to be maps of some kind.

"Urgh… wait… there… there was a place out in Utah… Salt Lake City," he rambles on, getting the same look on his face whenever he feels especially driven and determined about something. "I had a few colleagues of mine coming from over there, said the place was a gold mine in the healthcare field. When things started to take a turn for the worse, that's one of the first places they locked up," he explains, looking into my eyes as he repeatedly nods his head. "St. Mary's Hospital, we could try there!"

Groaning as he continues to dig through more files, flinging them to the desk at nearly lightning speeds, I wander on over to him and hover over James' shoulder. "What makes you think it's still up and running? The city could be covered in roamers! How would any of your buddies know?"

"They're good sources, alright? They're reliable, and I trusted them! They wouldn't be wrong on this, and St. Mary's had one of the best cancer wards in the country," he recalls, flipping through some more notes until he stumbles upon the correct one. "Look here, see? They had to have left some equipment behind."

"Sure, but you wouldn't even know how to work it regardless. You're a scientist, James, not an oncologist!"

"Well I can sure as hell try my best! I'm trying to save your life, man! How can you not see that?!"

"I do! I… I do…" I soften my tone, knowing that he truly cares and that he doesn't understand my reluctant behaviour. "I just… don't wanna go all that way and waste your time if there's nothing we can do about it…"

That settles him down a little bit, as James leans forward in his chair and buries his face tiredly in his hands. I truly appreciate all that he's trying to do for me, and I would absolutely try to do the same for him were the roles reversed. However, as much as I'd be willing to go to the ends of the Earth for him… I don't want him to have to do all of this shit on my behalf.

Ignoring my worries as he sternly shakes his head, James clears his throat and looks deflatedly over at me.

"…we're going to have to tell the others if we're heading out that way…"

"I know."

"What do you think they'll say? More importantly, what do you think _Clementine _will say?"

Frowning at that, I shrug my shoulders in ambivalence; honestly not too concerned about what she might think of this little adventure of ours at this point.

"You know just as well as I do that she can't stop us – not unless she wants her secrets exposed," I reason, admittedly feeling a little shitty about potentially blackmailing the girl, but also still feeling pretty annoyed and frankly ashamed of her at the same time.

With James also looking a little uneasy about me saying stuff like that, considering that Clem has actually been a pretty big part of getting this initiative to take flight, he nods silently before turning his head back to look at the screen; leaving me to my thoughts as I decide to take a walk in order to clear my head.

Salt Lake City, huh? Well, James… I sincerely hope you're right.


	28. New arrivals, beginnings and endings

_**Clem's POV **_

"Are you fit enough to travel by yourself?" I ask pointedly to Kazuki, who's spent the past two days of the return trip home mostly just keeping to herself. I haven't heard a peep from her aside from politely asking if she could go to the bathroom (meaning a bush on the side of the road), and even then I've had to tell her to speak up so that I could hear her properly. I was starting to worry that she may have become a mute on the way back here.

Tiredly looking into my eyes, the girl nods as I take a moment to assess her for myself. I'm not exactly stable all the time personally, but the girl had taken that amount of uncontrollability to a whole other level. She didn't just want him to die – she wanted him to _suffer_, and she knew exactly what it is that she was doing to him. We can't allow ourselves to delve down to that level of thinking and acting, otherwise we'll end up losing a significant part of ourselves that we'll never be able to get back – that which makes us _human_.

However, seeing that she appears to be at least somewhat back to her old self now that the danger has passed, I make the decision to set her free. "Alright then," I acknowledge with a curt nod, telling her to turn around so that I can get at her bindings. We had tied a thick piece of tent rope around her wrists to prevent her from lashing out – you know, just in case something were to happen. I was kind of afraid that if I had tied her hands up in front of her, that there may have been the possibility of her trying to strangle Lilly with her own bindings, but Kaz didn't even try to break free at all.

"You get why we kept you tied up like this, don't you?" I question as she rubs her scabbed wrists tenderly. Placing one hand on the roof of the truck, I lean over as I try to explain myself. "We weren't sure what could've happened… you could've still posed a threat to us. Yourself, even more so," I mention, watching as her face falters for just a moment. I guess she's had plenty of time to contemplate the killing of Joshua while being forced to stay in the back seat with the rest of us. Jane wasn't too keen on the idea of her staying in the confines of the truck, but as usual it seems, Lilly was quick to argue that none of the newcomers would take too kindly to her being stuffed in the back with the rest of them.

"…I'm sorry…" she tells me sincerely, her voice weak and rough after days without use. I had almost forgotten what her voice actually sounded like after a certain point.

The gesture is small, and it may not be enough to justify what she did to that man, but the result is going to pay off big time. This may be one small step towards the road of forgiveness. My own actions may mirror hers, so I can understand that feeling of desperation and revenge, but the rest of the camp? Will they really be so willing to accept that one of their own was willing to burn a person alive? Probably not. That may take a lot more than a simple apology to fix up that open wound.

But at least it's a start.

"C'mon," I encourage, offering a hand as I help her out of the door. "Let's head on inside. Bo, James and everyone else are probably still waiting for us. Wait until you see the looks on their faces when they see how many new people we brought back with us, huh?"

Pulling off a half smile, Kazuki does as I've suggested and walks towards the large building set in front of us. The truck is parked only a little ways away from the main entrance, with the giant hole from Bo's walker-blasting still leaving a trench in front of the base even years afterwards. I've only ever ventured down there once in the last few years after Riley had died, and I had to force myself not to look at the corpse even then. Thank god Ellie hadn't decided to tag along with me that day. It would've broken her already fragile, little heart.

I make sure that Kaz is walking ahead of me a little bit just out of pure instinct, and not because I don't trust her word anymore. Deep down, I know that she was scared and confused, and the fact that that asshole would show up again probably only succeeded to spark even more of her hatred towards him. It was almost as if the predator was finally getting his karma for all the wrong he had done. Really though, I'm glad to see that so far, this hasn't taken over her. Hopefully she can bounce back from this sort of thing.

"Home, sweet home," I mutter, feeling a little worried as I see Bo glaring at me from the top of the steps.

Before I can even ask him what's wrong, however, in an instant he scuffles back into the space centre.

* * *

"You've gotta be kidding me right now."

"I wish we were," James says to Emily with a sigh, placing his hands in his lab coat that I always see him with. Does he ever take the damn thing off? "It all happened so suddenly… Neither of us were expecting it – just came out of the blue, and before we could even blink, we realized that there were some steps that needed to be taken."

"Fucking hell…" Racheal groans, turning to face the window as she places her hands on her hips and watches as the new people start getting accustomed to their new surroundings. "We just came back from bullshit, and now you're telling us that there's even _more?_ How did neither of you see this coming?"

Stepping in to defend his friend, Bo frowns at Racheal and tries to keep things from getting any more heated. "How the hell was I supposed to know this would happen? And don't blame James for it, either! We've been dealing with this for days now, just waiting for all of you to come back so that we could tell you… We thought it would be better for you all to hear it in person rather than over the radio…"

Feeling saddened, slightly distraught and confused all at the same time, I try to process what they've told us as the rest of our group try to wrap their heads around it.

Turning to Bo, who still seems pissed at me for some reason, I try to keep a level head as I frown sadly. "So… this really happened, then?" I question, wanting to make sure for certain that what they've told us is indeed true. "Scott… he killed Luna?"

Nodding his head, the worry lines upon James' forehead grow deeper as I watch him incessantly tap his foot lightly on the tile floor. I don't think I've ever seen him get this worked up about something since Debbie had been killed, but something feels strange here. The scientist has (or _had_, given the circumstances) almost no connection to either Jake, Luna or Scott, with him in fact almost acting annoyed whenever they were around. I eavesdropped on a conversation between him and Luna once when they thought nobody else was around, and even then he sounded like he was in a hurry to be somewhere else.

So why the sudden change of heart, here? It doesn't make much sense to me.

"Luna may have killed Jake in a drunken stupor, but that doesn't change the fact that Scott decimated her with bullet shells. Two wrongs don't make a right," James cringes, pointing to the boy's door as we all turn around; half expecting Scott to be there listening in on us. "We weren't exactly sure on what the right response would be, so we've been keeping him locked up tight. And now that we're all here… it's time to decide."

"Decide? What, are you suggesting we _kill _him?! That would be three wrongs! We can't seriously be considering this!" Kelly states, stupefied as none of us really step up in agreement. "I thought this place was supposed to be about keeping ourselves in check! What the hell happened to democracy here? To a fair justice system, for god's sakes?!"

"…Scott made it pretty clear that he was taking the law into his own hands," Bo voices his opinion, although looking as though he wants to agree with Kelly all the same.

Seeming to realize that none of this is going to be settled unanimously, Lilly steps up to the plate as she makes her own suggestion. "We should put it to a vote," she volunteers. "We can hear from both sides if we need to, but in the end… we need to decide this as a group. This is a kid's life we're talking about here, so if we do this, we do it together."

Agreeing with that sentiment, I take off my hat to reveal my shortened hair; still flowing back into two pig-tails at the ends, but I'm not doing this to show everyone my luscious locks. With Jane quickly returning from her room with a pen and paper, after seeing what I'm trying to accomplish here, she begins to rip the sheet into tiny scraps.

"A check for life, an 'x' for death," I gulp, using my hat in order to collect the papers when the time comes. Katie has already come to a decision right off the bat as she folds the paper in two, and I slightly roll my eyes as I can already understand what she must've put down. No doubt she's just itching to get at that helicopter on top of the roof… although, that's not necessarily a bad idea for her to try out. With Luna apparently deceased, we'll need a decent pilot for long-distance runs. Going out on foot or even in a land vehicle can prove to be pretty time-consuming, as we've seen.

I'm fairly certain of what I'm going to put down as well, but I'm going to wait until most of the group has started tallying their results. There are twelve of us voting, including myself, Jane, Lilly, James, Bo, Alden, Emily, Racheal, Katie, Kelly, Kazuki and Marcus. Ellie's off somewhere with some of the younger kids that had come with us, and I doubt that she'd really want to go through something like this anyways. It might be a little much to sink in.

"Can I just say something?" Emily speaks up, raising her hand as if she's in class. Getting the nod for a go-ahead from the rest of us, she clears her throat before continuing. "…from what I can tell, Scott's a good kid. A bit misguided at times, sure, but… this was something in the heat of the moment. Don't forget, Luna had killed _first_. Seeing your friend get pushed off a roof like that… I'd think that if I were in his position, I'd probably do the same thing."

"Sure, but he killed one of our own people – are we really just supposed to let something like that slide? Kid or not, he should be facing the consequences. If we let this go, what message does that send to the rest of the camp?" Racheal asks, with me not failing to notice the icy, cold look that Bo sends my way for a split-second. What the hell is his problem today? Seriously, you'd think that he'd be happy we returned relatively safely!

Raising an eyebrow over at him, Bo quickly averts his gaze upon seeing Jane looking in the same direction that I am. I wonder if she suspects something's up, too…

Alden speaks up next, as Marcus silently bites on the end of his fingernail; looking as if he's torn on which vote he's going to cast. "If there's one thing that I've learned from living in Tracy's camp, it's that we can't start killing ourselves. Otherwise we're going to end up with nobody left to protect," he explains. "That being said," he clarifies, holding up a finger like some sort of professor, "I think Scott deserves a chance to have another go. Like Emily said, Luna struck first. What was he supposed to do? Try to arrest her or something?"

"He could've at least gone to grab James and I. We might not even have been having this discussion if it came to that," Bo remarks, and with nobody else looking as though they have anything to say, we all look down at our scraps of paper and begin jotting down their own individual answers.

Walking around the circle as I hold my hand out, almost looking like I'm begging for spare change, I notice the anxious expressions of people's faces. None of them (save for a few) look as though they're really sold on which decision is the right one, but like Lilly had said, it's important for us to start making these tough calls. We need to establish rules again; a system that we can all follow by and start looking up to in order to keep each other safe and secure. Otherwise, we'd probably end up with people sneaking over to each other's rooms in the middle of the night, stealing each other's belongings and slitting each other's throats. We can't have the kind of barbaric tendencies that have been ruining our world for almost a decade now.

Quickly putting a check mark on my paper, knowing firsthand that I'd feel like a major hypocrite if I didn't, I fold up my paper and place it into my D-inscribed hat. Shuffling up the papers for dramatic purposes as well as to keep the results anonymous, I head off to a work table by myself to tally up the scores.

I get slightly startled when the first four papers in a row are all marked with a big, blue 'x', and over the next minute or so I start to feel a woozy feeling in the pit of my stomach. This is gonna be too close for comfort! I had thought for sure that almost everyone would vote to let him live as I have done, but apparently not everyone thinks the same way as I do.

…wake up, Clem! Of course none of them do – you hear voices in your own head, for crying out loud!

"You finished yet?" Marcus asks me as I slowly nod, feeling pretty alarmed at the decision that has been reached. Collecting the scraps back up and placing them in my hat, I walk back over to the group as they all await with bated breath.

"Well? What's the verdict here?" Katie hurries me as I shrug my shoulders.

"It's a tie," I tell them, not expecting it to come to something like this. "Six to six – but what do we do now?"

With the only two people in the entire group to have actually examined the gory scene for themselves, it mainly falls to them in order to determine what the next steps have to be. So, with a heavy heart, James speaks up for the both of them as he pulls a set of keys out of his pocket.

"We'll let him speak for himself, and then try this again later today. No need to rush to any conclusions," he advises, placing his key into the lock and twisting it open.

* * *

_**Ellie's POV **_

"My turn! It's my turn!" Willis squeals in delight, giving me a bit of a headache as I keep the camera up high above his head. At least I'm taller than _somebody!_

Giggling as he throws a bit of a tantrum, I jump up on my tippy toes as I try to make him even angrier. His mommy showed us how to use this old video camera that Clemmy found for us today, and it's the best thing in the whole, wide world! I can press a button and see the other kids' faces on the screen!

How fucking cool is that?!

"Haha, nope! You get to pose for the camera, instead! Dance, monkey, dance!" I tell him, finding it super funny when he makes monkey noises and jumps around like a chimp. Seeing us having so much fun over here, Sophie and Liam both run over and join in on the dancing.

Looking proud that he got us to laugh, the three year old Willis sticks out his chest like a superhero and pretends to fly away; a blanket flying behind him in the wind after his mom tied it around his neck. I tape the whole thing as Liam and Sophie, both four years old, sprint after him and pretend to be the bad guys.

"Ugh… they're doing it wrong…" I complain to myself, lowering the camera for a little bit as Willis falls flat on his face; crying as Liam jumps on his back. The super hero isn't supposed to cry! "Stupid idiots…"

"That's not a very nice thing to say about your new friends, Ellie."

Turning around with my eyes as wide as dinner plates, I bite my lip as Clementine stands right behind me. I can't tell if she's really mad at me or not, because her face kinda looks like she's REALLY tired right now, but I feel bad anyways. Maybe she needs a nice, long nap – that's what I used to do whenever I got cranky.

…but I don't do that stuff anymore, because naps are for babies!

"W-well… they're being dumb! We're supposed to be playing super heroes, but Willis is…" I say, pointing with my thumb as the kid is helped up by the only parent he's got. He's lucky… at least there's _somebody _there with him. I don't even remember what my parents look like anymore.

Well, my Daddy anyways. I never met him, and Mommy never said what happened to him. I miss her the most out of anyone, the same way that I miss Riley. I hope they're somewhere warm and safe from all the monsters.

Chuckling a little bit and smiling warmly, Clemmy bends down in front of me and gives me a big hug. I don't know why she's doing this, but feeling her rubbing circles on my back and her hat nestled up against my cheek makes me feel all warm inside. I think I like it when she does this kind of thing – it makes me feel… like she's a big sister or something.

"Clementine?" I whisper, rubbing my hands on her leather jacket as I start becoming worried. "Are… are you okay?"

Nodding against me, she backs up before swiping a strand of hair out of my face and taking my tiny hands into her giant ones. "Never been better. Just happy to see you enjoying yourself," she tells me softly as I smile a little bit. I like it when she's happy about something – Clemmy always looks like she's so sad. "In fact, I was just about to come get you for something – something really, _really _fun that's happening tonight."

Feeling a hint of excitement as I hear that, I ask her what it is as she shrugs her shoulders.

"Actually, now that I think about it," she teases me, "I'm not so sure it'd be your kind of thing. I don't think that you'd be able to handle this kind of – "

"Tell me, tell me, tell me!" I bounce up and down, clutching onto her jacket sleeve as she laughs and sighs.

"Alright," she says as I shout in victory. "We're all having a big, fancy dinner tonight. Wild turkey, if you can believe it. Apparently James was saving it for a special occasion," Clem explains as I can almost feel my mouth watering. "Then afterwards, some of us are going into the rec room to watch a movie on the projector. We finally got it to work! I think the movie's called… Shrek, or something…"

"A… movie? What's that?" I ask, looking confused as I've never really heard of something like that before. When Clementine's face turns a lot more sad than before, I try to say that I'm sorry as much as I can. Did I say something bad?

After a second or too though, after seeing me frown, she shakes her head and places a hand on my shoulder. Teenagers are weird!

"You'll find out tonight," she tells me before standing up to her full height. "It'll be extra special for you, then. I think you're gonna love it, Ellie. Afterwards, we might even be able to watch the movie that you've been making yourself on that camera."

Whoa… this old thing can make movies?! This has to be a magic box or something! How the heck can it even do something like that? That's crazy!

Looking at the thing as she says that, I point it towards her and push the button that Willis' mom had told me; laughing as Clementine makes silly faces at me. She sticks out her tongue, gives herself bunny ears with her fingers, pulls her lips apart and makes weird but funny noises, and ends up scooping me from behind as I shout in surprise. All of a sudden, I'm flying in the air as she places me up on her shoulders, giving me a piggy-back ride as I keep the camera out in front of me.

"Are you gonna come watch it with me?" I ask as she starts jogging like a race horse.

Nodding her head, I can't help but smile and wave as we pass by some of the new people who are still checking things out around here. I need to go over there some day and show them all that Clem's the big boss around here!

"You bet, Ellie," she smirks, twirling in a circle as I start to feel a little dizzy. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

Still picking at my teeth after the feast that we had all just enjoyed, I can't help but yawn as I wander alone down the hallway. The tryptophan in the turkey has certainly been working its magic, and I can't help but laugh at how I'm actually able to do this right now. It's not even Thanksgiving as far as I'm aware, and yet even amongst the end of the world, somehow we've found a way to have a dinner like this. Really makes you think, doesn't it?

I've never really been one for big social gatherings like this, though, so I had left about halfway through. Jane looked a little disappointed, as did Clementine, but in all honesty I just am not feeling that up to it right now. It doesn't feel right, having something like this while the rest of the planet is collapsing. It feels… fake, actually. Like we're all living in some kind of fantasy world and that we're not accepting the fragility of what we have.

At least none of them plan on making this is a regular thing. Starting tomorrow, it'll probably be straight back to work. I suppose they can consider it a nice, relaxing time, but I think of it more as a distraction than anything else.

But of course, Jane seems to disagree with me. Nothing new there, except I had really figured that she'd be one to shy away from these big events as well. Jane always struck me as more of the loner type. Hmm… maybe she's trying to change her ways.

Whatever the case may be, I'm not exactly sure that I'm fully on board with all of the changes she's been going through lately. Especially when they have something to do with the two of us.

Deciding that a nightly stroll might be enough to clear my head, at least for the time being anyways, I find myself having wandered all the way over to the launch pad room. Apparently this is where a lot of the magic used to happen, what with all of the scientific advances and research going on in terms of space exploration and other mysterious things, but for me this place is more of a stark reminder of our dark past. This is where I was almost certain that my life was going to end, back when Lorna betrayed our trust (big surprise there) and tried to kill the rest of us. Derek had died in that corner near the far wall, and the last thing I remember before blacking out was hearing Lorna's taunting voice in my ears.

Jane still refuses to talk about how she died that day. I'd imagine it wasn't pretty.

"Wow…" I quietly mutter, still awestruck by the big-ass rocket located in the middle of the launch pad. Despite my own reservations about venturing into this place, I still can appreciate the craftsmanship. This really is a part of our history, and it wouldn't feel right to leave it for ruin.

Descending the staircase at a snail's pace, I try to take everything in as I notice some of the various monitors and whatchamacallits spread throughout the lab. I don't know what half of these machines are actually used for, but James seems to think that some of them still work somehow, so I'd say we should just let him tinker around with his toys. It keeps him busy, and apparently a lot of the time these actually turn out to be quite useful. The radio over there was the same one that he used to contact us when we were out in Missouri.

I shake my head in wonder as I gaze upon more of these devices, many of which look as though they belong in some kind of science fiction movie. Laser cutters, high-powered microscopes, small, little observatories, space suits for the rocket… all they'd need is a teleportation device and a time machine, and this place would be a perfect set piece for Doctor Who!

…ha. I can almost feel the Whovians clawing at my eyes for making such a terrible reference, even though the majority of that show's fan base is probably dead by now.

Curiously enough, something seemingly insignificant catches my attention as I spot a small folder out of the corner of my eye. Located on a steel table over by the rocket control panel, I wander over towards it and gaze at the print on top of it. Plastered in bold, red letters is this message: **CONFIDENTIAL – DR. JAMES LEXINGTON**

I know deep down that he really wouldn't appreciate me going through his things, but the curious side of me is taking over, and he did just leave it out… Surely he would've expected for _somebody _to come stumbling along, right?

As soon as I open the folder up, I am puzzled to find a small, black remote sitting inside of it. There are no labels on it at all to indicate if it's some kind of TV controller or not, but the small, red button near the top of the plastic device just beckons for me to press it. After all, the red button is always the one that's the most entertaining.

Pressing down on it, I jump back with a start as the screen in front of me comes to life. A man's face appears on the monitor as he adjusts whatever it is he's using to record himself with. Looks like this guy's been through a lot of sleepless nights, but I can't help but wonder why he'd be wearing a space suit… unless…

"James, if you're still there man, know that this message speaks directly to you…" he begins as I flip open the folder, determined to find out exactly what is going on here.

* * *

Nobody is expecting me to come bursting through the door like this, as I startle some of the children and even some of the adults. But I don't give a flying fuck about that right now. I want some answers here! No more of this bullshit! I won't put up with this charade anymore!

"Lilly, what are you – " Jane starts, but I cut her off as I walk right up to James and slam the folder down hard right on the dining room table. Scott, whose life has been spared thanks to a touching plead about his thought process that night with Luna, flinches as I almost accidentally hit him in the face.

Folding my arms together crossly as I dangerously glare at the man, I watch as James glances up at me in annoyance. "Is there some reason that you need to be snooping around my personal belongings, Lilly? You probably could've just asked, you know. I would've turned you down, obviously, but manners never hurt anyone."

Feeling irked that he'd act so calm about something like this, I place my hands on the table in front of him and loom overhead.

"I've seen the files, James. _All of them_. The journal entries, too," I mention, watching as his eyes widen a tiny fraction. "Care to explain why over half of them say you fucked up seven years ago, and about all the regrets that your team had? Oh, and while we're at it, why don't you answer me this – what is all of that nonsense about working with people around the world on a _social vaccine? _What are you trying to hide here?!"

Confronted in front of the entire group, not just the select few from beforehand, James sighs before lowering his head a little bit, with Jane silently asking me where the hell I've been this whole time. I'd tell her all about the crazed man on the space station that I had seen, but she'd probably just think I'm crazy or something.

"…alright," he admits, looking obligated to do so under so many curious stares. Even Bo looks a little intrigued, and here I thought that those two clowns told each other everything. "I suppose there's really no point in hiding it from you all any longer. I… well, scientist teams around the world had kept this info a hidden secret for a very, very long time…"

"_Just fucking get on with it!"_

Rolling his eyes at the random outburst, James captures everyone's attention as we all listen carefully. Looks like it's story time with Dr. Lexington. "One of the main reasons that I wanted to find a cure for the walker disease… and to have spared the lives of millions across the globe… is because we had inadvertently released the infection to the public," he reveals, dropping a bomb on us as I slowly find myself slumping back into my chair. Did he just say what I think he said?

Continuing with his grand tale, James folds his hands together and leans his elbows on the table. "Governments had formed a coalition with each other trying to figure out new methods of biological warfare, along with pathogens that would be enough to cripple entire societies. The first tests were done on insects, then animals… until…" he trails off, with everyone except the kids, who aren't really old enough to understand, knowing what it is he's referring to: humans.

Jane has her face buried in her hands, rubbing her eyes tenderly as she tries to get the stress away. Ellie's looking back and forth between people trying to figure out what's going on, but Clem… she's almost expressionless. I can't really tell what it is she's thinking over in her seat.

I know for a fact that the rug has been lifted out from underneath my feet, metaphorically speaking. This has literally blown me away, and has brought a big chunk of my world-view into question. Nobody really thought about how this all started – most of us just tried to find ways to weather it out.

But it seems that he couldn't keep the truth from leaking out forever.

"If word had gotten out soon enough, there would've been mass chaos, riots, protests, revolutions… you name it. None of them would've mattered, though," he reveals, as if there was anything else that could possibly surprise me even further. "Countries were prepared to go into World War Three and start conscripting citizens over this – the major powers were on the verge of a nuclear war, so they needed a lethal counterattack and back-up plan just in case. Humanity was fucked either way… sometimes I wonder if this was the lesser of two evils…"

With Emily wrapping her arms around Alden to support him as he quietly breaks down, along with several others who have just listened to what the cause was for the single most devastating blow in all of human history, the Fireflies right now are nothing but a bunch of distressed survivors; all of whom are so lost and troubled that none of us can even think straight. This guy's damn lucky that nobody's tried to jump him yet, if only because Bo is sitting beside him with a loaded pistol in his hands.

"No more secrets," he promises, sporting a determined look even though his friend is practically begging him not to say anything. "Bo… they deserve to know about it. What more do we have to lose at this point?"

"…I've got lung cancer…" he breaks the tension, stunning the room into silence as none of us truly know what to say.

* * *

With many of the group huddling around as James prepares to lead them into his laboratory, promising to reveal to them a significant amount of info on what he's been trying to do for a cure, I spot Clementine nearly flipping her shit as she hurriedly mentions for Ellie to go back to her room. Doing as she's been obliged to, the little girl takes one look at me before scurrying away down the dark hallway.

Bo, most likely already pissed off and angry at the world for his potential death sentence, holds Clementine back from the rest of the crowd as he ushers the two of them to head on outside through the front door. The irony definitely hasn't been lost on him – out of all the ways that he probably could've gone, this is a disease that's been plaguing humankind and baffling doctors for generations. Feeling a little miffed about him man-handling my dear friend like that, I decide to follow them stealthily and wait until something really happens.

Hiding behind a pillar near the top of the stairs, I listen in as Bo starts laying a verbal assault on her.

"Just stop it. Right fucking now, Clementine. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Bo hisses as he leads them both out into the nighttime air. "This is the way it has to be. We don't have an option anymore other than this one right here. You're their leader, and you have to do whatever it takes to keep them safe and alive. You get that?"

"So why the hell does it sound like you've been the one pulling the strings this entire time?!"

Huh? Pulling the strings? What's she talking about? I thought the whole point of the Fireflies was so that we could try and restore things back to the way they used to be; not plotting behind closed doors and pulling crap like this!

"That's not true, and you know it," Bo persists; his voice shaking as I can hear all the doubt in his tone. "And don't act like you haven't been a culprit in all of this mess either, Clementine. I know what you did… I know about Zayne…"

…what does that kid have to do with any of this?

Playing it off like a pro, Clementine laughs in disbelief as Bo tries to call her bluff. "You came to _me _to lad this group. _Me_ – you said it yourself that I was the best person for the job," she remarks, but something about the way she's talking makes me think that there's still more to the fifteen year old than what she's been letting on. Perhaps she has some other deep, dark secrets that she doesn't want anyone to find out about. "And now you're accusing me of _murder?! _Are you sure you want to go down that route, Bo? Because if I actually am a killer, then you might not like what comes next…"

"I've said my fill – you've heard me. Do me a favour and drop the act, would you? This whole compulsive lying thing is starting to get a little old," he sighs, glaring daggers at the teen and leaning up against the broken-down car behind him. I still can't believe that Clem actually has this much brass to pull a threat like that off. "If I had known what you'd be like… what you'd become… then maybe I would've kicked you to the curb that day like you were going to do anyways," he barks, causing me to clench my fists tightly. That son of a bitch… even after all the shit we've been through, what with the both of us coming close together and becoming friends back when we had been kidnapped, now I'm possibly starting to see his true colours.

I'm impressed by how much Clementine is standing her ground, but even then I can tell that she's wavering a little bit under Bo's intimidating form.

"I don't know why you did what you did, or what possible reasons you may have had for it, but I can tell you this much," he warns, standing back up to full height as I consciously take out a pistol and aim my gun at him from around the corner, "you are _not _the same person that I once knew, and if you put our people in danger in any way under my watch, or jeopardize all that we've worked so hard for to get around here, I can promise that I'll be here to stop you. And you won't just be walking away from that."

The strangest and most foreign expression comes across in Clementine's eyes afterwards: distrust and hatred. Not once in all the time that I've known her have I seen her act this way, and it scares me beyond belief. That glimmering, childlike playfulness that she used to have way back when is no longer present; replaced instead with a cold indifference.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself so you don't get hurt," she mentions with a terrorizing presence of her own. "We've both got deep, dark secrets, Bo. You and James aren't the only players in this game anymore."

Lowering my pistol so that it brushes against my thigh, I maintain my hiding spot as Bo re-enters the space station; leaving only Clementine as she simply stares out at the moon with her hands in her pockets. Unaffected by the crisp air, she doesn't falter even after Bo leaves, showing me that something has definitely changed within her that I must not have noticed. She may have the tools necessary to be an effective leader… but damn does it make her seem ruthless.

Come to think of it, Jane and I might just be the exact same way.

* * *

_**James' POV**_

Great. The guy's fifteen minutes late, as usual. Christ, you'd think with his condition along with the possibility of him getting cured that he'd be right out the door at first light, but _noooo_ he just has to be a slowpoke about it!

I glance down to check my watch, but quickly shake that idea off as I realize how pointless that would be. Old habits are hard to get rid of, I suppose. There were several mornings in the beginning where I'd get up and actually be convinced that I needed to cut the grass outside – that died off pretty quickly, though. Walkers nearly had me surrounded the second that I opened the garage door.

I can't show any doubt or reservations about this trip – not with so much at stake. There's gotta be something we can do to save his life, or at least keep him from dying for just a little bit longer. Bo deserves the best treatment that I can afford to him.

After all the long years that he's struggled with me, he's the only true friend that remains by my side. Bo… he's like a brother to me.

Speaking of whom, I sigh heavily when he finally does come prancing out of the space centre; only half-dressed as struggles to put a t-shirt on with only one arm.

"You're late," I point out, helping the man as I study his face. Poor guy must've not gotten a lot of sleep last night. I wonder what kept him awake. "Bo, I need you to take this seriously. We could be gone for a very, VERY long time here, and I need you to be focused in order for the both of us not to be killed."

"No need to worry about me…" he drones, causing me to worry regardless as he brushes past and walks straight over to the truck. Lilly had given us the keys to it early this morning after finding out where we were headed, but she didn't seem like herself. It's almost as if she was… _nervous _about something.

"…okay," I acknowledge, watching as he closes the passenger door as I walk around to the other side. Climbing into the driver's seat, I strap my seatbelt on as the two of us sit there for a minute; collecting our thoughts. "So… you ready for this?"

Staying quiet for a moment, as if he's thinking about something that he's leaving behind back home, Bo nods before lightly smirking ahead. "Yeah," he tells me, "let's go on an adventure."

Flicking the ignition on, I stare back at the space centre and wonder if I'm leaving the place in good hands, especially after dropping that tidbit from last night. Were Bo's life not potentially on the line, I would probably stay here and try to assemble and mold a team of researchers together so that I can continue to work on finding a cure.

"To St. Mary's Hospital we go, then," I smile back, pressing my foot on the gas pedal. "Salt Lake City or bust."

* * *

_**Jane's POV **_

I've been taking Clementine's words to heart, and have been thinking about what she had told me over the past several days. _I just want the both of you to be happy – that's all that I care about. _Tch… if only it were that simple, Clem.

But the more that I replay that message over and over again in my head, the more wisdom that I see behind her words. Happiness… if that's really all that matters, and neither of us are truly feeling as happy or satisfied with how we are right now… then I need to do something about it. Time to step up and be the bigger person – I don't want to stay in a relationship if Lilly isn't feeling it like she used to.

Wherever this may lead us, I just hope that we don't end up killing each other as a result.

Spotting the brown-haired beauty sitting on the floor off by herself down the hallway, just near where our room is located, I swallow my pride and slowly start to walk over towards her.

"…hey," I murmur softly, slightly concerned as she doesn't budge an inch. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Knock yourself out."

Well, this is certainly off to a great start so far.

Sitting a few inches away from her as I stare at the opposite wall, I lightly clap my hands together once as I awkwardly try to figure out the right words to say.

"So…" I begin, but Lilly's already beaten me to the punch.

"I think that Clementine may have killed somebody."

Alarmed at the outburst, and feeling slightly exhausted as Lilly once again tries to be the bearer of bad news, I rub my forehead tiredly as she looks over at me.

"…you don't believe me, do you?" she infers, not entirely wrong as I shake my head. "God damn it, Jane! Do you really think that I would make something like this up? I love that kid… but last night, I overheard her and Bo getting into a huge argument… And it sounded as though Zayne wasn't exactly killed by _legitimate _means…"

"You really wanna know what I think?" I question, feeling the temper flare up as she glances over and scornfully nods her head. "I think you're being paranoid, Lilly. _Again_. Clementine's already going through enough shit, and we promised that we'd be there for her no matter what. _We_, as in the both of us. So you telling me this crap about her isn't exactly winning you any favours!"

Blowing hot air out of her nose, Lilly's breathing comes out like a steam whistle as she tries to keep from imploding. See? This is what I'm talking about! Every single conversation that we ever have anymore always ends with the two of us bickering with each other over something! That may have been the case beforehand, but do I really want to have to go through this while also being with her twenty four-seven?

"I can't believe that you're not even going to listen to me about something this huge – I would _never _start saying something like this if I wasn't certain that it was true!"

"Lilly, you don't have any fucking proof of this other than the fact that Bo was accusing her of something! That's just slander! You can't create something out of _nothing!_"

"Why can't you just fucking believe me for just one god damn time?! I've followed you into the depths of hell, Jane, and yet you STILL treat me like my opinion doesn't even fucking matter!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE I CAN'T TRUST YOU ANYMORE!"

Silence. Nothing but terrible, awful serenity in the hallway as both of our voices clash together. We've both crashed and burned at this point, and there's really no going back from it this time. This is our boiling point, and we both know it.

The truth has been exposed – the feeling that's been physically strangling me for so long has finally been released. Lilly and I weren't made for each other. Why did I ever think we could be in the first place?

Watching as she slowly stands up, without speaking, and starts to walk away in the opposite direction of our room, I widen my eyes and gape at what I've just done. "Lilly… we need to – "

"Save it," she shakes her head, taking a tear-filled look over her shoulder back at me. "We both know it, Jane. For now at least, I think you and I need some time alone. We need a break from each other…"

My mind is unable to process this as she turns the corner and heads up the steps, no doubt heading to her position up top as our rooftop sniper. My body has become numb with a mixture of feelings that I don't even know what to do with.

Not once in my entire life did I think that I'd ever feel miserable and cry over the loss of a person – be it a girl or a boy.

But then again, Lilly isn't just some woman.

* * *

_AN: And that's another chapter down – don't be alarmed, but the next chapter is going to jump ahead five years so that Clementine is now twenty years old. Meaning, she'll be the same age as she is at the beginning of this story._

_Yep, Alexandria's coming soon enough :) And with that brings a whole new set of problems. Truths and secrets will be revealed, and I think you guys are really gonna enjoy what's coming. _

…_well, I hope so anyways XD_

_I hope you guys weren't too skeptic and all about the way I explained the outbreak. I know that we never really find out in detail how it happened, with the exception being during season one of the TV show with Jenner and all that, but I thought it'd be kind of cool for James to have known about this all along. It's sort of like him trying to live up to their mistakes._

_Ok, so to respond to the guest review, I don't think that the family is determinant necessarily. Just because you can have the option to turn them away doesn't mean they'll die outright – it just limits their chances of survival significantly. With no food, and Gil to still take care of, they're going to have their hands full. But we really won't know about their fates until season 3._

_In all honesty, I'm not too sure about Edith, since as it turns out, all of the endings that I have now are with Jane XD _

_Anyways, hope you all enjoyed that, and as always, thanks for reading! Please leave a review about the stuff you enjoyed or didn't like – I'll welcome constructive criticism if you have any concerns!_

_Stay classy, folks!_

_Leafs Nation_

_PS: Yes, for now, Jilly is over in this fic. I'm trying to focus more on the trinity aspect – Clem, Jane and Lilly – that was featured more in the first book of this trilogy, so please don't be pissed at me. I see now that this story can probably still do without that romance involved, and it'll hopefully help to develop Jane and Lilly's character a bit more._


	29. Our system

_**CLEM'S AGE: TWENTY**_

_**Jane's POV **_

"Ladies and gents, we will be touching down in Missouri within a few short moments. Please fasten your seatbelts as we prepare to make our descent."

"You do realize that there are only three of us in here, right?" Alden chimes from the back, poking his head in from between the seats. "Unless of course your vision suddenly got impaired, which is something that you should probably tell us, Katie. No need for all the _dramatic entrances_."

To get the boy (or man more specifically, as the past five years have resulted in a bit of a growth spurt for him) to sit down and shut his yapper, Katie purposely tips the helicopter to the right a little bit, something that neither of us appreciate.

Smacking her upside the head, Katie chuckles before fixing our altitude. Before long, we touch down onto the yellowish grass of Ranger's Grove. Hopping out the side without a word to either of them, I slide open the back door and refuse Alden's help to carry some of my load.

"A little fun never hurt no one," Katie sings lightly, taking off her headset before patting Alden on the knee. "C'mon, squirt. Off your ass – it's about time that you stretch your legs, anyways."

Smirking at that, Alden undoes his seatbelt and tries to help me again, but I brush him off as I turn away from the duo and head out past the suburbs; a box of goods in my hands as I notice the farmland set up to the left of me. These folks sure have been busy since I was last here.

I can't say that I blame them for their abnormally cheery attitude lately – this system we've developed has really started to grow over the past five years. What started off as a simple back and forth exchange has grown into a survival setup unlike anything I have ever seen since before this all went down. The Houston Space Centre has grown into more than just a place to live, with everyone within the walls having a part to play in order to keep the community running smoothly. My job usually involves going out on supply runs to the surrounding towns to scavenge what I can, but yesterday I was basically assigned to come with these two nutjobs since Scott's come down with a minor case of the flu.

I didn't really have much choice in the matter, with Clementine basically mentioning it to me before taking off to do other things, but I guess it really doesn't faze me all that much. It's not as if I haven't done this before, and I know the people here who are in charge of the drop-offs, so at least it's not totally awkward.

But the man responsible for that, Jordan, is a bit of a douchebag at times. I think he takes the pride in his work a little too seriously.

"You're a week late," he accuses as I approach, dropping my crate at his feet as he marks something off on his checklist. "Care to explain? We've had the corn ready since Monday, Jane – _Monday_. You folks will be lucky if it doesn't spoil by the time it reaches your plates."

Rolling my eyes, I snatch the pen from his hand and sign my name beside his to indicate that the package was successfully delivered. This kind of shit is just a formality, as there's really nothing else written on the blank sheet of paper, but it lets their group know that they aren't being short-shafted in terms of the trading.

After putting down my John Hancock, I give him back the pen and tap my foot; waiting admittedly impatiently for some of his boys to bring over some of the corn bushels. "Dates don't exist anymore, dumbass," I point out, always finding it amusing whenever he goes red in the face. Seconds later, however, he simply grunts and calms down. "And anyways, we were having problems with getting gas to take the chopper over. Jet fuel isn't exactly easy to come by, you know."

"So what'd you bring me, then?" he interrupts, obviously not in the mood to hear my excuses.

"What? Suddenly you don't trust me now?"

"I need to do inventory, genius! Can't just toss the box on a shelf somewhere and forget that it even existed," Jordan points out as I sigh before sliding the flaps of the box open; revealing a small pack of antibiotics, some fresh bandages, gauze and a handful of unused needles. Resting on top of that are some old books that I scrounged up from a local library, but those really were more trouble than they were worth. Nearly cost me an arm when a walker got the jump on me in between some of the shelves.

Still, a little reading material would probably be good for some of the people around this place. It's a hell of a lot better than their alternative – taking turns with beating the living crap out of each other for fun. UFC my ass… I don't think that those fighters ever resorted to beating each other over the head with wooden planks.

"There's a few more boxes where those came from," I elaborate, looking over my shoulder as, sure enough, Katie and Alden aren't too far behind with some of their packages. "All of them are medical supplies – should be more than enough for your crew to last a few weeks if not more, easily."

Nodding in approval, and looking as though he's pretty satisfied with the exchange, I watch as two other members of their community holding two bushels of corn each make their way towards us. Carrying one of them within my arms, I grunt as it weighs a lot more than I presumed it would, but nevertheless I carry on with getting these back to the helicopter.

"Aren't you gonna say something about the fields?" Jordan remarks, showing off their handiwork as I briefly pause and glance over at their pride and joy. "Greg finally managed to get that old tractor moving again, so now we can start plowing some of the dirt. Most of it's bone dry right now, but pretty soon we'll be able to grow almost double… no, _triple _the amount we've got now. There's something to be said about that."

I've got to give these guys some credit: as uninteresting and dull as a farm might be on the surface, those are just the kinds of things that can keep people alive. Fresh vegetables were something that I had definitely missed, and I can't even begin to describe what it was like taking my first bite of that delicious corn on the cob after going so long without it. It made me think of late-night barbecues with Jaime and my parents back before I had gotten kicked out of the house.

"Any casualties lately?" Alden inquires, with me only slightly paying attention as I look out into the fields. I drop my basket of corn and shield my eyes from the sun as I squint in the person's general direction.

Shrugging his shoulders, Jordan sighs deeply as he nods his head. "A couple of teens thought they were being smart one evening – drank all the booze they could find before dicking around off in the fields," he explains with a hint of sadness in his voice. "Couldn't have been seventeen yet… We found their bodies all chewed up and torn to pieces, and the walkers weren't far away. Because of that, we've got patrols set up with guns all around this place to protect the workers – that mistake won't happen again. Not under my watch."

Heading out towards the newly dug-up patch of dirt, I ignore their complaints to come back as I jog over to one particular person struggling to use a garden hoe. The person's bright yellow sunhat is a stark contrast to what I normally would've thought they'd be wearing, as are the green overalls and sandals, but the bandages wrapped around the person's eyes are a dead giveaway.

"Didn't expect to find you out here, Tracy," I quip, watching as she slowly stops what she's doing and turns to my voice. Being blinded by her own group member was a pretty gruesome end for the once former leader, but seeing her like this is a little strange. It's almost as if she's happy about being out in the sun like this.

Reaching out her hand, I tap one of her fingers as she tries to place a name to my face. "…Jane, isn't it?" she acknowledges, nodding her head as she weakly picks her garden hoe back up. The last that I had heard, she was refusing to talk to anyone after having gotten her eyes gouged in, but I didn't even think she was _alive_, let alone working here. By how scrawny of a build she's put on, however, I get the feeling that she hasn't been eating properly at all. "Oh don't act so surprised that I know who you are… Your pal Ellie's been filling me in on what's been going on at your camp. Seems that you've built up quite the little following over there, what with all of your new people coming in."

"Ellie? She's been talking to you this whole time?" I question, believing for so long that she had only ever accompanied Scott, Alden and Katie on these trips because she wanted to get out of Texas for a little while.

But apparently, she's been a bit of an informant to our former enemy. Tracy's obviously no longer a threat in her current state, but it kind of makes me wonder who else Ellie's been talking to.

Chuckling at my expense, Tracy continues to dig a little bit as she talks to me. I'm a little amazed at how she can actually kind of keep in a straight line with the garden hoe. "She's really the only one who's offered – can't say that I blame the rest of you for ignoring me, but I suppose that's just how it goes. Kid's got a fiery spirit in her, that one," she says a little ominously, telling me this as if it's new information. I've been around long enough to know about Ellie's antics back home, though. "Fiona's occasionally around too, but I haven't heard much from her, either. Usually she's off hunting whatever game she can come across, so I usually tend to the fields alone."

"…why?" I ask, placing a hand on my hip as the summer heat drenches her in sweat. I've never been more grateful than to not have to constantly where that brown jacket of mine – the thing was getting a little weathered out. "Clementine told me that you wanted to _die _in that office, and let me tell you – there was a lineup of folks banging outside your door for people to volunteer for holding a gun to your head. So… what changed your mind?"

Keeping her mouth shut for a moment, I almost go to repeat myself when she suddenly tries to switch rows; with me having to help her as I take her arm like a frail, old woman.

Swiping the dirt off with one of her gloved hands, Tracy turns to face her next section of dirt before finally answering me. "I've had a mighty long time to reflect on things – there were quite a few lonely nights spent with me curled up into a ball on the kitchen floor," she recalls, actually making me feel slightly bad for her even after all the atrocities she's helped commit. "I hated myself for everything I ever tried to do, and… that first year after… after Joshua… that was a pretty dark time. Suicide was on my mind almost twenty-four seven, and after a while it just became a natural thought process. What was dear, old Tracy good for other than to fuck things up for everyone else? Of course, I could never really _find _anything to kill myself with, so that was a bit of an issue…"

Feeling a little uncomfortable hearing the inner thoughts of this woman, I close my eyes for a brief moment and picture my sister saying very similar words. Like Tracy, it seems, she had it drilled into her head that nothing was going to change, and that the world was better off without her.

"But you know what changed my mind?" she asks me rhetorically, continuing on as I look at her again. "I started getting out some more; wandering the grounds with Fiona to guide me along. Usually it'd just be a quick walk around the block or something, but the length wasn't important. I realized that despite my handicap, and despite all of the spiteful shit that people were saying about me… I was still here. I made it out the other side when so many others had died. I figured that if I was still going, then I ought to actually try and _do _something. Moping in the corner wasn't really helping anyone," she reveals, for once having a slightly happier ending instead of concluding with death and regret. "All life is precious, Jane – best you remember that. I don't regret having to come out here and working the fields, and I sure as hell don't regret not taking my own life. This is enough to satisfy me, so instead of hurting anyone else, I've decided to do the best with what I've been given. Can anyone ask for more than that?"

Despite sounding a little too preachy for my tastes, I can kind of understand what she's trying to get across. Tracy must've had quite the epiphany – going from wanting to kill yourself every day, to wanting to live each day to the fullest.

I won't lie and say that the thought of suicide hasn't crossed my side once or twice. Honestly, I'm almost one hundred percent certain that every person on the planet has thought about what would happen were they to try it, and all the heartbreak that it would bring to the people whose lives they've touched in one way or another. That was what it was like for me, anyways.

It was a few months after getting kicked out of the house. That night, Jaime had called me from the house sounding really upset and shit, saying how I wasn't picking up her calls or answering her texts. I remember biting back with the claim that neither her nor our parents gave a rat's ass about me, and that I was severing all ties just to prove that point. There were a few rounds of beer kicking within my system at the time, I'll admit, but I think that I actually _meant _what I was saying back then. I hated myself for getting kicked out, and I hated my family for doing it. I was all alone in a shitty apartment with an awful job, just barely making it by from day to day.

You know, the cliché movie lifestyle that nearly all the dramas had in them. Except this time, the Hollywood payoff of what would happen afterwards – big house in the suburbs with a happy ending – failed to reach me. Almost as soon as I had moved in, I was to be evicted within the next three or four days. Even though I wasn't paying the bills, somehow I had even gotten it into my head that the landlord was a douchebag, too. So yes, I was a pretty miserable teenager back then.

For me, there was no escape from this never-ending nightmare – I was going to be homeless, and my life was going to shit. So after angrily telling Jaime to leave me alone and shutting off my phone, I laid up against the ratty, disgusting couch just sitting there with my face buried in my hands. What could I do? There was no way that I was getting out of this mess the way that I was going, and now I had just screamed at one of the few people who ever took the time to try and talk to me.

That unopened bottle of aspirin was just sitting on the kitchen table, and in my emotional wreckage, I had actually reached out to grab the damn thing. I even opened the fucking bottle and took one of the pills. Then two more, and another just to start off. After this point, seven pills of aspirin were still in my hand, and I was shaking like hell.

It wasn't until Jaime had called me back just seconds later that I finally stopped. We talked for about half an hour, with me trying to apologize while still acting as if I was the stable sister in the family, and not the other way around.

Jaime, the sister who I tried so hard to save years later, had actually saved _me_.

"Yo, Jane! Yoo-hoo? We're on a tight schedule here!" Alden chants whilst waving his arms around, either not noticing who it is I'm talking to or just pretending not to. I'm surprised that he wouldn't react somehow considering that Tracy's still loitering around.

"Better catch up with your crew there," she comments wistfully. "Go on then, I've got things to do around here, anyways. Oh, and… sorry about that whole thing with Lilly. Thought for sure you two would go the distance."

Something inside me tenses up at the mere mention of her name, let alone the reminder that we're no longer together, but another part feels… relief? Is that what it is? I can't say that it's been the smoothest of rides living under the same roof as her since we broke up, but it hasn't been nearly as brutal as I would've thought. It took a bit of getting used to, and I ended up moving out of the room to the bottom floor shortly thereafter, but now I'm pretty sure that things between us have gone back to the way it was before, back when it was just the three of us at Houston Hills.

So yeah, that means we try to stay out of each other's way when we can.

Muttering a quick goodbye as I traipse back to the helicopter, I can't help but allow my thoughts to trace back to Ms. Caul. If my hunch is correct, then right now she should be out on a simple scavenging run with Marcus and Racheal. Something about retrieving a bag of guns that one of them had left back at the city library, I dunno.

Nothing they can't handle, I'm sure of it.

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

"FUCK!" I swear, slamming the door shut with Racheal as we both try to hold it steady for dear life. Dust from the hinges kick off into the air as the walkers snap their hungry jaws and try to ram through, but I refuse to let them get into this place – not without putting up one hell of a fight, at least.

My nerves are shot, however, when some of them manage to get a good shove and lightly knock us off the door, but we quickly bounce back as Racheal slashes one walker in the head and shuts it closed again.

"Grr… we can't keep this up forever!" she grunts, telling me what I already know as I try to dig my heels into the rug. "Where the fuck did he go?! He's the one who lost the damn thing, so that bag shouldn't be this hard to find!"

"Don't you dare let go of this thing to check!" I tell her, actually chuckling a little bit at how ridiculous this is. What a mess we've gotten ourselves into! What should've been a quick snatch and grab operation has turned into a massive clusterfuck with very little hope of escaping. There have to be around ten walkers on the other side of this door, none of which are very happy that we've muscled in on their turf.

…or maybe they're happy to have seen three potential meals come along, I don't know. It's not as if I can turn around and ask them.

Not finding this nearly as amusing as I do, Racheal swears again as we both find our strength starting to wane a little bit. That's what we get I suppose for skipping the gym session that Clementine's organized for the group each week, but I honestly didn't think that I needed it.

Clearly, as is the case here, I was wrong about that.

"MARCUS, YOU IDIOT! GET DOWN HERE!" she screeches as we finally see him on the second level; a sheepish grin on his lips and a bagful of weapons in his hands. The guy looks like a little boy who got caught sticking his hand in the cookie jar.

"Well…" he shrugs, "I got 'em."

"Yeah, no shit! Hurry up and help us with this! We can't hold on for much longer…" Racheal states, looking like I've lost my mind as I tell him to stay. "The fuck? Are you serious?! What are you – "

Pointing forwards on the second level, Marcus and Racheal follow my gaze as it lands upon a dusty glass window. Assuming that it's not locked, in which case we might have to shoot our way through, we should be able to make our emergency exit through there.

"There's a dumpster down below – that should be enough to break our fall," I explain, not instilling any confidence in them as I get ready to sprint up the stairs. "On three, ready?"

"No!"

"One… two…" I count down, ignoring Racheal's insistence on how stupid of a plan this is, simply because it's the only one we've got. It's certainly better than wasting bullets trying to force our way through, not to mention all the noise that that would create. "Three!"

Making sure that she's following along, the two of us release our hold on the door as the first couple of walkers fall down like a stack of dominoes. They basically get trampled on by their fellow undead monsters, but none of them seem to feel any pain as their arms are crushed underneath the oncoming stampede.

Running as fast as our legs can carry us, we hop the steps two at a time, with me grabbing onto Racheal's hand as she trips up a little bit. Just in time, too, seeing's how the walkers are nearly upon us. Thank goodness they're so stupid.

"Marcus…" I say lowly, not bothering to hide my anxiety as the dead start to make their way up the stairs. "Get the window open – preferably right now!"

"Almost… got it!" he exclaims, finally managing to open the window as the metal screeches loudly. Poking his head out, the man gulps as he looks downwards. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me, Lilly…"

"You won't break your legs, don't worry! Just go!" I usher, trying (and failing miserably) to erase any doubts in the survivors as Racheal bashes a walker straight over the railing; watching briefly as it lands with a _splat _on the ground below.

With him being so hesitant, for reasons that I'm faintly aware of, I roll my eyes and push his back forwards. Yelling in fright, Marcus falls right towards the dumpster as he drops straight through the plastic lid and groans as he hits the garbage bags inside. Those have likely been sitting inside of that bin for years.

"Blech! There are fucking raccoons in here!" he squeals, moving over slightly as I pick up the bag he had dropped and hop out the window myself.

Racheal, thankfully not trying to take them all on by herself, jumps last; making her descent as she nearly hits the side of the dumpster.

"See?" I remark, tossing the bag onto the pavement and climbing out. "Told you it wouldn't be a problem. But, uhh… you guys might wanna move…"

Confused, the two of them look back up to the window only to see that the walkers are trying to follow in our footsteps. The first one practically does a belly flop as it smashes its face on the side of the dumpster, killing it instantly as two more start to come after us.

"Run! Go, go, go!" Racheal hurries along, with neither of us attempting to argue as we race away from the main library and try to trace our steps back to the space centre.

This better not have been all for nothing – these guns nearly cost three lives today.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"…so you see it too, then? These bolts are coming loose on the garage door. If we can't get it to close properly, then we might be in some serious trouble," one of the new guys, Trevor, tells me as I go to inspect the damage for myself. This is what we get for neglecting the repairs around here for so long. Tommy used to be all on this kind of thing, but we haven't had a proper mechanic around here for a very long time up until now.

At least he had pointed it out to me this morning – I think the people will feel a lot safer around here knowing that our defenses are more intact. It'll let them rest a little bit easier at night, for sure.

Getting some grease on my finger as I trace across the broken and dented garage, I nod my head as I write the parts down that he tells me. Looks like it's another trip out to that hardware store… The place may have been totally inhabitable, but at least we can make some visits to it occasionally. If we keep up what we've been doing around here however, what with breaking down our machines and having to replace parts all the time, then sooner or later we're going to run out. And then what'll happen?

If only there was a way that we could make this shit ourselves.

"I'll get Emily on it when I see her this afternoon. Thanks for bringing this up," I tell him, watching him grin wearily as I place my pen back into my coat pocket. "Was there anything else? Or do you have things under control down here?"

Thinking it over for a moment, Trevor shakes his head as he pops open his toolbox to do whatever other repairs there are to keep him occupied. "I think that's the only major issue for now, ma'am. Thanks," he says in appreciation; heading back to his work as I make a hasty exit. I've got about a million and a half things to do today, including checking to make sure that our pantry is decently stocked, inspecting the outer walls for walkers, along with looking to see how our gun room is –

Damn… Lilly and them should be back by now. What could be the holdup?

Deciding to put my worries at the back of my mind, knowing just how capable those three can be, I wave hello to some of our more elderly community members as I hear them whisper about me, thinking that I'm too busy to listen.

"_There she goes again – off to try and solve everyone's problems. Don't you think she should slow down a little? She's too young to wear herself out so much."_

"_I'd say so, yes. One of these days, she's going to work herself into the ground. Mark my words."_

Frowning a little at that, I try not to let that message sink into my skin as I pull out my keys and unlock the door to our training room; cutting across as I briefly wave to Kazuki. They don't really think I'm overexerting myself, do they? I mean, sure, I may have to go around the base all the time to make sure that things are in proper working order, but that's just a part of the position. Somebody's gotta do it, and it's not as if James and Bo are around anymore to help me do it.

Not that Bo would likely _want to _even if he could… That whole conversation back then really changed our stance with one another, and I can't help but admit that it's been pretty devastating.

As it turns out, however, St. Mary's hospital actually was a lot more useful than any of us had figured it would be. So… good for him, I suppose. It's still a little hard to believe that James can actually give him some treatment for the lung cancer.

"Clem, they came back just a little while ago. Lilly's waiting for you upstairs," Kaz mentions, doing a few sets of push ups as I nod in confirmation.

Rubbing my eyes in utter exhaustion, I groggily cross the gym and head for the staircase to the main floor. I can already feel a migraine coming on in force…

* * *

Dropping the bag in front of me, Lilly waits for me to unzip it as I examine the contents inside. Machine guns… perfect. These bad boys were worth the risk, I'm sure of it. Definitely worth going back for – who would be able to touch us with some of these?

Also seeing a couple of shotguns and a handful of combat pistols, I nod in acceptance as I check the merchandise off on my checklist. Just another thing finished for today.

"Try not to lose them again, hmm?" I remark pointedly to Marcus, smirking and rolling my eyes as he pats me lightly on the back. "Alright, you clowns – dinner's waiting in the mess hall. Go on ahead, Emily's cooked up some oatmeal."

"Ugh… I'd rather eat dog food…" Marcus whines, winking at Racheal as she just walks ahead by herself; keeping her head down and her hands in her pockets. Shrugging his shoulders, Marcus heads off as I zip the bag back up and attempt to carry it by myself.

Struggling to barely lift the damn thing off the ground, let alone toss it over my shoulder, Lilly grabs onto one of the straps as I clutch onto the other. Reluctantly, seeing as how I prefer to be more independent than this, I allow her to help as we walk towards the armory in a comfortable silence.

Lilly had changed a lot since the separation, I've got to say. I've noticed her sometimes reverting back to her old ways of tearing off by herself, but at the same time, she and I have actually gotten a lot closer to each other; possibly even on the same level that Jane and I were once on. I've been able to openly talk to her all about my schizophrenia (and yes, I can finally pronounce that word) along with all of the voices that I keep hearing in my head, and she's actually been great to just sit back and listen to what I have to say. Lilly actually gives out pretty decent advice, too – she's tried introducing me to these brand new breathing exercises that she used to go through, and I've gotta say that they've been working wonders. My stress levels have gone down immensely.

But this closeness with Lilly… it all happened a little suddenly. It was almost as if after she split with Jane, she kind of replaced her with _me_ – someone else to care about, I mean. Maybe I was the crutch that held her upright after that time, because for a while the two women could hardly stand to be in the same room as each other. But whatever the case may have been, those invisible walls that were held in place between Lilly and I before had been practically broken down.

What was really odd, however, was how much she wanted to find out about me at the time. Lilly kept on bringing up Zayne and how much some of the other members missed him, and naturally, I had just frowned and nodded; not revealing _anything _about that night. I was starting to suspect that Lilly was onto something, but after a while those talks just… stopped. As if they had never happened at all, in fact. It was as if Lilly had just adopted an entirely different personality.

I've got to say, though – I think I like this new Lilly a lot more than the cold one.

"Run into any problems out there?" I ask her, watching as she gives me a knowing look as I sigh. "Shit… I thought that area was clear…"

"They must've come in from the north somewhere, or the outskirts of the city. There weren't any walkers over there before," she confirms, lifting her end of the bag up a little bit as I try to keep up with her pace. "Well, we got out, didn't we? It's all about strategy, Clem – we know how to deal with walkers."

"Better just to stay out of their way and evade them," I agree, having gone over different tactics with the Fireflies dozens of times now. We had set up different scenarios for them to go through downstairs, mainly on how to hide, how to go through herds without even firing a bullet, and most importantly – how to take them down if you need to. Trying to kill every single walker around is almost pointless. We're far outnumbered by them, and attracting too much attention to yourself isn't going to win you any favours.

Hell, we even ended up creating a book on the subject for people to read if they wanted to – _The Firefly Guide to Survival_. It was actually pretty fun to do, especially since I got to draw some of the pictures inside. Usually they were just crummy, little sketches, but now I can proudly say that I've been a part of writing a novel. Not too shabby of a thing to add to the resume, huh?

"You seem a little overwhelmed," Lilly mentions as I groan in annoyance. "Clementine, I'm serious. You don't have to do all of this shit by yourself – lighten the load a little bit. Let me cover some of your routes tomorrow, and take a day off to relax."

"Hmph… why don't you just ask Jane to tag along while you're at it?" I remark icily, knowing that that's a little mean of me to say, but I'm getting pissed at how many people lately have been questioning whether or not I can handle this myself. I haven't crapped out yet now, have I?

No, and I don't need anyone to pity me over this kind of thing. I can handle this kind of thing on my own – Lilly already does enough around here as it is. Being one of our guards up on the roof, along with scouting duties and weapon counting, she's got a lot on her plate herself.

"Clem…"

"I get it," I brush off, placing the bag down carefully as we start to line up the guns along the wall in order from smallest to biggest. "But… I can handle this myself, okay? The last thing that I want is for you to get dragged into doing my responsibilities, too. Trust me, if I need your help, I'll ask. But please… just let me try?"

Shaking her head slightly and chuckling in disbelief, Lilly stares at me for a while as I finish lining up the guns. "Sometimes I look at you and still can't believe you're real," she compliments, making me laugh slightly as we head back out of the room. "Alright, kiddo, you win this round. Just remember my offer, alright?"

Giving her a salute, I smile before watching her walk a little bit ahead of me; taking one last look in the armory and shutting the door. This community… these Fireflies… we're gonna make it. This time, our group won't fall to pieces.

I'm going to make certain of that.

* * *

_**Ellie's POV **_

I've been doing the same thing for the past hour or so now – flipping open my switchblade and then closing it back shut, all with the flick of a wrist. It's gotten pretty easy for me to do, considering how much practice I've had now with the weapon. If I wanted to, I could shank any one of these guys with them not even realizing what happened. No daylight, no noise, no screams.

But would I ever do that kind of thing? No, not likely, as much as I'd probably enjoy doing it to one of these obnoxious kids who keep sprinting back and forth down the hallway. Racing past me and giggling the entire time, I find it incredibly hard to believe that anybody can be so carefree like this anymore.

I mean, why don't they take a look around? The world is unfair! It's total bullshit, and it's taken way too much from me when I haven't even offered it that much in return. So why are they so fucking happy?

Feeling irritated by their relaxed nature, I can't help but feel a little envious of these kids – their parents are still alive, and they're actually acting as though life is completely normal.

For fuck sakes, wake up already!

"You're it!" one of the kids shriek, tapping me on the arm as I continue to sit on the bench. "Umm… do you not know how to play tag? We can teach you, if you want."

"Take a hike, I'm busy…"

"But we just wanna – "

"I don't care _what _you want! Go play your stupid fucking game somewhere else and quit dicking around all the time!" I blow up, feeling unusually bitter today considering that I'm usually a lot more cheerful than this. "One of these days you're gonna end up playing _tag _with a motherfucking walker and you're gonna get your head ripped open!"

"Wh-what?!" the kid scrambles his words around. Great, I'm making him cry… "You… you can't talk to us like that! I'm telling my Mom!"

"Then you might want to get her to show you how stupid you're being while you're at it…" I grumble, taking a long walk down the hallway as I blow a few strands of red hair out of my face.

There, that ought to teach them… even if I feel like shit for doing it.

* * *

Briskly walking past Clementine's open office, not paying it any mind at all and just wanting to be alone for a while, I groan as she verbally stops me before I can get anywhere.

"Ellie…" Clem remarks, not even taking her gaze off of some files that she's looking over. "Why are you picking on kids out there? That's not like you – usually I can't tear you away from wanting to play with the rest of them."

Feigning innocence, I shrug my shoulders as I linger outside of her door.

"Well, maybe I'm not like them, _Clementine_," I sarcastically retort, putting emphasis on her name as she sighs and tells me to come sit in her office. With her pointing to the chair in front of her desk, and knowing fully well that my ass is grass if I try to blow her off like a stranger, I fold my arms and step into the office.

Pushing the folder to the side for a moment, Clementine folds her hands together as she offers me a sad smile. "Come on, El," she says sweetly, only using that tone when it's her and I talking. "What's this about?"

I hate when our conversations start off like this, because it always ends up with me looking like a blubbering idiot who spills their guts while Clementine always stays like a closed book. But you know what? I'm not gonna do that this time.

Nope, I'm going to be totally cool and collected. No inner thoughts coming out this time, no sir.

"…they don't know how good they have it…" I reveal, lasting for about five seconds of silence before already breaking my vow. So much for not spilling your guts, Ellie! "They've never had to go outside this place! Those dumbasses haven't had to shoot walkers, or try to live on their own, or try to scavenge for food… What's gonna happen if this place suddenly falls and they have to go out into the world on their own? They'll all be screwed!"

Looking a little down that I would even suggest the possibility of the space centre getting lost after all this time of building it back up into a home, Clementine crosses her legs as she lightly twirls a pen back and forth on the desk. "So… that's why you're angry? Because they're not ready?" she asks, trying to understand my thought process as I slowly shake my head.

"It's not just that… it's… god, I don't know! Seeing them so happy just… I don't understand it! How can they be so happy when I'm so miserable?!"

"Ellie… maybe you just need to learn to enjoy yourself. There's no reason why you can't have a little fun around here."

"You don't understand!" I exclaim, standing up and pacing back and forth before looming over her and placing my hands on her desk. "They've got so much more to be fucking thankful for! I mean, they still have people who care about them! They still have parents, Clementine! Do you have any idea what it's like to… to lose…"

Giving me a blank expression as she sits calmly in the chair, Clementine waits for my breathing to settle as I truly take in what I've just said. I'm so fucking stupid… of course she'd know about losing your parents. We were nearly at the same age when it happened to the both of us, although she had known hers for a little while longer. Still though, the effects were similar, and I can't help but feel like an ass as she stands up and walks around the desk.

"Clementine…"

"Shh… it's okay, it's okay," she whispers lovingly, coming over to me as I lean up against her and cry against her chest. I need this – I need this so, so badly…

This is one of the few (if not the only) people who can actually make me feel safe and loved, and I don't want to lose her. What would I do then? Go over to Jane and Lilly for support? Sure, I really like them, too, but… it just wouldn't be the same. No, this is the one that I need – Clementine is the only family that I've got left.

I didn't understand that before, but now more than ever, I think I've finally started to figure it out. I need Clementine just as much as she needs me. We're a team, and teams look out for one another.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can't help but notice my rolled-up sleeve; showing the mark of my bite as I sob harder against her. Why did this have to happen to me?

And more importantly, what does it mean?


	30. Unhinged

_**Jane's POV **_

This right here is pretty fucking weird. For the past ten minutes, Alden and I have been standing here in the main foyer just silently watching Clementine hunching over the corn baskets. Her back is turned towards us, so I can't tell what it is exactly that she's thinking, but whatever it is, I don't think it's good.

But what could be the holdup? We did everything according to the usual plan didn't we? Head over to the farm, sign the paper, trade the goods, and get out.

"…you're sure you didn't leave anything in the helicopter?"

Glancing over to Alden, who's shaking his head, I answer her to the best of my ability. "Nope, Katie even made sure that we dug underneath the seats to check for any leftover crap. The chopper's been swiped clean," I explain as she finally turns around with a piece of corn grasped firmly in her hand. Damn… didn't think that I'd ever feel a little bit intimidated by Clementine of all people.

Tossing the husk of corn up and down in her hand, Clementine sighs before tossing it back in the basket. "Well," she remarks in annoyance, "looks like we just got ripped off."

Alarmed, since I'm sure that I didn't make a single mistake this time, I head over to the basket as she continues to explain herself. I keep my eyes down purposely upon noticing Lilly walk by, but she seems to have the same idea as she practically ignores me and heads off to do… whatever it is she likes to these days. It's not as if I'm following her around.

"Twenty five decent pieces of corn might be enough to last this place a week, and not a day longer. And even that's being a little bit generous," she tells me as I burrow to the bottom of the basket, only to find that over half the ones he sent us have already gone rotten beyond saving.

"That slimy son of a…"

"I thought you guys were going to make sure to check before taking it back. You know they're not always honest about this sort of thing!" she lectures us as I swear under my breath. "How are we supposed to feed everyone for two weeks on rotten vegetables? We don't exactly have a cow out back for milk and cheese!"

Alden, trying to come up with a suitable excuse on my behalf, tries to ease his way into the conversation, but I won't have any of it. No, this wasn't his fault – I was the one making the drop-off, so it's my responsibility. That means that I need to face the consequences.

Still, though, I shrug my shoulders as Clementine nearly slaps herself in the face.

"We're going to have to make do with something else then for the time being. Maybe send people out on a few extra scavenging runs this week, I don't know," I pop out an example. Too often have things like this gone wrong, and too often have people gone pretty hungry late at night because of little mistakes. But we'll get through this sort of thing, like we always have. "Clem, you've gotta throw me a bone, here. It was a long trip, and I wasn't exactly in the most energetic of moods…"

"Then maybe you should've let Alden go through with it, then," she mutters icily, picking up a basket and turning on her heel as I frown behind her back.

Where the hell is all of this snappiness coming from? I know that the late teens and early twenties are a time where many people find their elders to be annoying or not having a clue about what the hell they're talking about, but even that doesn't line up. I'm her friend, not her mother, and I certainly haven't gone out of my way to nag her about how to live her life. So what's her beef with me? This doesn't make any sense!

Seeming to notice my discomfort, Alden appears by my side as he clutches onto another basket while I carry the other one. "Stress is probably just getting to her, Jane. I wouldn't worry too much about it," he suggests, although I figure that she'd at least apologize afterwards if it was simply something to do with that. "Maybe we should all just try to stay out of her way for a little while. Just to play it safe, you know?"

"Hmph… it's not as if the workload's getting any easier, Alden. If we keep ignoring this, shit's only gonna keep on piling up," I retort, causing his eyes to look downcast a little bit as I hear him sigh. "She's been in pretty shitty situations like this before – acting out, pushing people away – but usually the fix is for me to just talk it out and try to take her mind off of things. Maybe that's what she needs now."

"If you say so…"

Something's been pulling that girl and I apart recently. She won't always be open and honest with me about her mental condition, and whenever I bring it up she'll usually just tell me that nothing's wrong with her, even though I know that isn't true. If anything, and I haven't told a soul this yet, but her illness might actually just be getting worse. A few nights each week, when I do my late evening rounds to patrol the hallway, I'll sometimes hear her voice through a crack in her doorway; answering questions that no one even asked, pacing around her office and having imaginary conversations with her parents…

On the one opportunity that I opened the door and whispered asking if she was okay, she nearly toppled over as she got this tense look on her face. It hurt a little bit seeing her like that, if I'm being honest. She looked afraid of me, as if I was just some intruder barging in on her private space. I've seen Clem at her lowest point now, and I'm worried that the others have already started to find out.

None of them will admit it though, because most people around here are either too afraid to talk to her about it, or just choose to be blissfully ignorant about her schizophrenia. Nobody wants to admit that the person in charge of their camp is seeing enough people to fill an entire shopping mall, meanwhile this base still has almost a dozen rooms with no occupants.

What really scares me about this though, is that she won't confront this for herself. Aside from the one instant where Lilly and I forced her to come clean, she won't go out of her way to seek help when the two of us are offering it to her. She's just so intent on helping everyone else that she won't even stop and examine the damage she's doing to _herself_.

"Hold up for a sec," Alden pauses, listening intently as I try to make heads or tails of what he's trying to tell me. "…hear that?"

Setting the basket down on a nearby table and wiping my hands off on a curtain, I keep quiet as I hear the faint sound of talking in the distance. But where the hell is it coming from? Why don't I recognize the voices, and why does it sound… dangerous?

One quick glance out the window towards the back entrance has me all up in a tizzy.

"Oh god, no…" I mutter, whipping my head back around to Alden and telling him to warn everyone immediately of the oncoming intruders. It's not a huge group of them, but they're packing enough heat to really pose as a potential threat.

Sure, the one time that Lilly's not at her post is the one time that a group of heavily armed strangers decide to show up. Of course…

I can't really tell if anyone's in charge of this little group that they've got going for them here, since none of them seem to be handing out any orders for this little attack plan of theirs. It seems to me that they're all just trying to cooperate with one another, even though some of these people look to be pretty sketchy and ruthless characters. Six of them are spaced out fairly evenly out in the back, and as one of them pull a pin out of a circular-looking thing and send it rolling towards the door, I immediately holler for whoever's close by to get out as quickly as they can.

Unfortunately, the warning comes far too late. In an instant, a thunderous roar belts through the space centre as the back door is blown wide open. I watch as Trevor, our newest handyman around the base, stumbles out from behind the door and collapses face-first onto the ground; dead as a doornail with half of his face blown off, and the rest of his body chock-full of shrapnel from the explosion. With a mighty war cry, the bastards rush inside and trample over his body in their race to try and take over.

I have to duck for cover as one of the men spot me. In his panic, he sprays off rounds of machine gun fire at the window as shards of glass shower down on top of my head; only covered by my hands as I feel the tiny pieces dig into my skin a little bit. The stinging sensation is only numbed by my worry for my friends' safety.

Where are Ellie, Lilly and Clementine?!

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

God damn it… I am _so _getting blamed for this shit once we dispatch these assholes. To be fair, they appeared out of absolutely nowhere, and there's not a trace of evidence to prove otherwise. I just happened to have left my post for a few minutes in order to grab a pistol from the armory downstairs, but knowing some of the people living with us, that's likely not going to matter. In their eyes, I will have fucked up hugely. It's like the motor-inn all over again.

Counting the round in my pistol as I hide behind a flipped table in the dining hall, I stay hidden as best I can as I hear the intruders talk amongst themselves.

"I thought you said this place was impenetrable! We've been here ten minutes and haven't had any resistance!"

"Shh! Fucking idiot… Don't jinx anything! They don't create rumours about places like these unless they were actually true!"

"But aren't rumours supposed to be…"

"Shut the fuck up, Pat! Go check over there! We can't take any chances with this – kill everything that moves!"

Oh boy… these guys have no idea what they've just walked into here. No way are we about to let them prance in here and take over, especially now that they're all in the same place. We may have been a little unprepared in the beginning, and some lives may have been lost in the process, but the best thing we can do now to honour their memories is to avenge them – either kill these goons or drive them back.

However, this really is nothing new, and it doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Whenever there's a rumour of a place that's doing better than what everyone else is dealing with, there are always those who'd want to take it from you – by any means necessary. I've lost count of how many times we've been attacked like this now, but each time we've been able to contain the blows. Usually we can do it while keeping our own casualties to a minimum, but these guys seem a little more organized than the usual party that we come across. They came here with a purpose.

That purpose is pretty fucking stupid, but still.

Spotting Marcus, Emily and Kazuki all hiding just outside the door, beckoning me to come towards them, I shake my head solemnly and stay where I am. If I make a run for it now, chances are that I'm gonna get spotted and fired at upon sight. No way am I taking a risk like that, even if it means that I have to stay glued to this dining table.

Making a pistol with my fingers, I wait for Marcus to get the message as he reluctantly nods his head. My heart rate speeds up a little bit as I wait in anticipation. This better go well…

Clutching onto my gun tightly with both hands, I take a deep breath and prepare myself for a full-on assault from behind cover; hoping that this table is sturdy enough to at least deflect _some _of their bullets. I lean my back against the wooden construct and count to three in my head.

"Well look at this! What do we got here?"

All at once my plan almost immediately falls to shit. Keeping my head down and covered, I slowly peek out from the side of the table to see what's going on; thinking that either Marcus, Emily or Kaz have been caught, but it's actually none of the above. No, instead, snatched up in a death grip is little Willis, one of Ellie's younger friends that she used to frequently play with growing up. The kid looks positively terrified, with his eyes as large as dinner plates and his bottom lip trembling as his kidnapper waves a gun around him in a completely reckless fashion.

"Shit…" I whisper quietly, hiding behind the table again as I consider my options. There are five of them remaining, as it seems that one of them got killed just out in the hallway somewhere, but my odds are still against me. I could try and get their attention focused on me so that Willis could get a chance to run for it, but that might just put the both of us in danger…

"So, who's willin' to negotiate here? We ain't seen y'all for a while now," the captor mentions, looking each way as his buddies try to cover the doorways. How Marcus and the others managed to get out of their vision I have no idea, but I'm more concerned with my own wellbeing at the moment, along with Willis'. "Really? Nobody? Damn, these fuckers are ice cold, Pat. They're willing to give up a fucking little boy just to save their own skins…"

Unable to take it anymore, I crawl on my stomach over to a better angle along the wall. All I need is one good shot on the kidnapper to give Willis the chance he needs. Making my way over, and cringing as I accidentally bang my foot against the end of the table, I steel my nerves as I immediately turn around and aim my gun to where I think they'll be coming towards me.

I'm about to pull the trigger, when all of a sudden my gaze turns towards the second doorway as I see Jane of all people trying to come help me out. She's got her hunting knife out, but I quickly shake my head when she sees me huddled against the wall. No way am I letting her die for me today – regardless of whether we're together or not, I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if she were to get killed on my behalf.

With all of my primary focus now pinpointed on getting her out of here, I instantly pull the trigger as soon as the first man turns around. The bullet pierces straight through his forehead as he lands on the ground with a _thud_, and the real fight finally begins. There's so much gunfire in the air that my ears start to ring, and I just barely manage to duck for cover as bullets rip the wooden table to shreds.

Screams pierce my eardrums as I try to just wait the massacre out, knowing fully well that those shrieks weren't those of a grown man. Somebody's down, and my darkest fears may be coming true. That smell of blood and gun powder is simply disgusting, as if the scent of death is literally polluting the air we're breathing.

But all the while, I keep praying – no, _begging_ – that Jane hadn't just tried to play the hero card and take on more than she can handle. I'm partially reassured knowing that she's usually the type to keep her distance from conflict in these tense situations (unless it calls for it), but I can't be certain.

Once all the noise and chaos dies down, replaced instead with some shuffling, snivelling and tears, I take a chance and poke my head up to examine the damage. Unfortunately, it seems to be pretty irreversible.

The bandits are dead except for one who happened to run out of bullets, but he's been pinned to the ground by a seething Marcus, whose eyes alone are enough to get the guy trembling in fear. I've never seen him so pissed off before, but I can see why.

Willis, the little boy who hadn't done anything wrong by anyone, has been shot to pieces, and is barely holding on as his mother screams and rushes inside; followed closely by the rest of the group as we all come together as a family.

Jane, seemingly winded after getting kneed in the stomach by one of her attackers, glances over at me as I jog over towards her. "You… good?" she asks me dumbly as I bend down beside her.

Turning my head back to the carnage for a moment, I keep my stoic look as I spot Clementine eyeing the bandit with disgust. "I don't really know how to answer that," I admit, watching her give Marcus the go-ahead as he and Alden drag the bastard outside. By his screams and pleads for forgiveness, I think we can all safely assume that his fate has been sealed.

And as far as I'm concerned, he deserves getting a bullet to the head today – possibly even more than that.

"Willis… oh my god, no… my baby… my baby boy…" his mother sobs, cradling the child in her arms as he struggles to breathe. It won't be long until he ceases to be, and we all know what's going to happen next. If it could happen to a guy like my dad, as well as the millions of others who came before and after him, then we all know that the kid doesn't stand a chance.

"…why were we not prepared for this?"

"Not the time, Racheal," Clementine warns, giving her a cold stare as Racheal clenches her fists.

"No, you're right. We should just ignore what's on everyone's mind. No sense in trying to figure out where we fucked up," she sarcastically replies, getting irritated as Emily starts to escort a lot of the kids and younger teenagers out of the room. They don't need to see this. "This can't wait, Clementine. We need answers – how they got in undetected, who was supposed to be covering the walls, and what we need to do to make sure this doesn't happen again."

"For fuck sakes, Racheal! Show a little compassion!" I belt out, so sick and tired of listening to her bitch at Clementine. Why can't she just open her eyes and see what's really going on here? "We've just lost people to these maniacs, and you going on like this isn't winning you any favours! Just let them grieve in peace for a while, Jesus…"

Placing two hands on her hips as many pairs of eyes fall upon me, Racheal shakes her head and scoffs at Katie decides to jump into the conversation. "Weren't you the one supposed to be up on watch, Lilly? Doesn't this make _you _responsible?"

Caught with my foot in my mouth, I say no more and instead pretend that I'm trying to tend to Jane. In reality, I just want to get away from all the intense, accusing stares being dished out my way. This is such bullshit… they're right of course, in a way, but I was coming back up to my post! I was on my way there! The coast was clear when I left the rooftop, and I couldn't have been gone for more than twenty minutes tops!

But none of that's going to matter to them. No, instead I'm going to be labelled as an incapable hypocrite who may have just ruined the lives of at least five people and counting.

Jane tries to come to my defense, but Clementine beats her to it as she tries to calm everyone down. "What happened here was nobody's fault, alright? Accidents happen, and all we have to do is take some time to grieve, but also to – "

"Just cut the crap, Clementine…" Willis' mother scolds, forcing her to look down at the child as her tears fall freely down her cheeks. By all accounts, the boy is already dead, but unless something's done, there's no way she's going to let him go. "This was no accident… My baby… he's gone… because of you and your people… We… we should've been prepared for this shit! This… this is all _your fault!_"

…really? That's what this is coming to? What a load of shit… after all that she's done for this group, after all that she's sacrificed in order to get us this far, _now _they're going to turn on her when it's fucking convenient for them?!

"Gimme a break!" Jane speaks up, feeling more at ease to speak when her stomach settles down. She's got to raise her voice among the crowd of disgruntled survivors, all of whom are starting to look as though they want somebody to blame. "Are you all fucking serious right now?! Clem?! Why the hell would you be blaming her when this is just as much _your _fault as anyone else's?! Maybe if you had actually tried to help out and defend this place instead of cowering in your rooms, then maybe people might've still been alive!"

"We don't see you stepping up to help either, Jane! I saw you hiding behind the door while they were holding Willis hostage! You didn't even step in until it was too late!"

"Yeah! Where's our line of defense when we needed you, huh?! Where were you?! ANSWER ME THAT!"

"YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE HERE! YOU PEOPLE ARE RUNNING THIS PLACE INTO THE FUCKING GROUND!"

Well, this went to hell in a heartbeat, to say the least. Not only are the people really looking pissed off about their own people dying (something that they've conveniently forgot was happening long before this), but now they're starting to turn against us. Nobody's violently lashed out yet, but I think that this may be the start of something more than just a few popular opinions. They're really starting to hate our guts, and something tells me that this has been going on for a while.

Unable to get a word in among the angry mob, many of whom are obviously just upset and acting irrationally, I take a few cautionary steps back as I actually feel a little frightened of our own group members. I never thought that it would actually come to something like this, but we may be getting one step closer to that coming to fruition. We just went through a violent attack at the hands of some outside thugs – the last thing we need is a riot with more bullet shells flying around.

"…get to the truck…" I mention to Jane lowly, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible so that they won't know what I'm talking about. "Jane, run. We're leaving, as soon as possible, alright? Get going, I'll meet you there…"

_BAM! _

All at once, every voice in the room stops abruptly. No more venomous insults, no more conspiracy theories, no more outbursts.

Just Clementine with a smoking gun and a bullet in Willis' undead brain.

"…we do what we have to in order to survive; to live," Clementine quietly mutters, walking towards Jane and I with Lilly in tow as nobody tries to stop her. Not that anyone would really _want to_ regardless, as even I'm a little disturbed at what she had just done. No hesitation, and very little remorse. His mother is close to having a conniption as the rest of the group starts to gather round. "Let's go. We need to gather some supplies and replenish our stocks, and they're not going to do it themselves."

Freaked out a little by her almost mechanical behaviour, with little to no emotion spread across her face as Ellie hesitantly falls in behind her, I turn towards Jane with a shocked expression.

The message here is pretty clear – Clem's been hardened, and I don't think there's much we can do to bring her back.

Choosing to leave before things get too much of a hassle around here, I take one look back at the crowd of people before hurrying along after my companions.

What the hell has happened to us?


	31. Hard truths

_AN: Hello, y'all crazy campers! I'm so grateful that you guys are still sticking around for this story even after all this time! _

_But anyways, just wanted to put this in first to let you guys know what's going on. So… I've got some good news and some bad news here._

_The good news is that I've finally figured out the ending that I want to create. I went over it numerous times in my head and spent the better part of an evening debating with myself if this is what I really want it to be or not, but I've managed to nail it down to just one ending. It might come as a shock, but I don't know yet, you'll just have to see :) Won't be for a while, though._

_The bad news is that I'm probably not going to be making a part 2 to Madness as a result of the ending I've chosen. It just wouldn't make sense for me to continue after this ending, but I promise that I'm going to try and make this as emotional and epic as I possibly can. I doubt that I'm ever going to be able to get a story up to the number of reviews that this thing's gotten, so I'm gonna give it my best shot here._

_And yes, pretty soon a shit-storm's coming on the way! Enjoy the next chapter, guys!_

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

Well, it's official. All of my previous limits have been completely removed; any moral barriers or hesitations about doing the hard things in life are utterly nullified. Everyone's seen what I can be capable of… what I'm willing to do in order to keep people alive.

Shooting that boy in the head at that specific time may have not been the best way to go about it, but what else could I do? Everyone was so busy ganging up on us, pointing fingers and calling each other out that nobody was bothering to address the elephant in the room. As far as I'm concerned, Willis was a ticking time bomb, and one that nobody was willing to accept. The kid had died in his mother's arms – _everyone _saw that. I just happened to be the one to make sure he didn't come back.

Would I call it my finest hour? No, of course not. There's no doubt in my mind that I could've handled it with a little more tact, and maybe have given his mom a little more time to say goodbye. But the reanimation process isn't static – it's not the same for everybody. Who knows? Maybe Willis could've turned right as they were yelling and ripped his mother's neck out before any of them could know what hit them! I may have just saved another person from needlessly losing their life!

…and yet, despite my survival instincts telling me that I did the right thing and ended the threat before it started to spread, I can't help but stare at myself in the side mirror of the truck and think – what the hell have I become? I glance at my reflection in the mirror and don't see my old self anymore, instead replaced by some stranger who'd sooner hold a gun to your head than try and help you out. I don't feel like I truly belong here or anywhere for that matter, and I'm starting to wonder why I ever thought accepting a leadership role would be a good idea. I had my doubts from the very beginning, but for the most part I simply ignored them. I figured that if I wasn't the one to step up and do it, then it'd just be another adult vying for control of the space centre, and eventually leading to yet another power struggle with deaths on both sides.

I never wanted that to happen. I didn't want any more groups falling apart like that, just as Jane had mentioned to me numerous times before. I thought that I could control it… but I was twelve years old at the time. I see that now – I was never really in control. Lilly and Jane may have acted like I was and just went along with it, but really, who was I fooling? James and Bo used me like putty in their hands, and I was just too stupid and naïve to realize it.

Banging my fist lightly against the metal door of the pickup truck, I take a deep breath from the bottom of my chest and slip into the driver's seat. Ellie's already inside waiting for all of us, but I don't say a single word to her as I see Jane slowly walking along; arms wrapped around herself in comfort as Lilly quietly follows in line. At first, the two of them seem a little concerned that I'm the one driving out here, but upon noticing my deadpan, stoic expression, they both comply and step inside – Jane in the front and Lilly in the back.

I've been meaning to get some practice with this, anyways, so I gently place the key into the ignition slot and twist it to the right. Within seconds, we're on our way out of the garage and are heading through the city streets.

Houston is all but abandoned these days, with the only remnants (other than us, of course) being the occasional bandit group hugging the edges of the city. They usually loiter around in search of any stray travellers that have heard about our community before killing them and taking their stuff, but their numbers have been dwindling as of late. None of them fairly well organized, with many of the men and women just looting from place to place and just struggling to get by.

The irony of it all is that if they weren't always so intent on feeding off of others' misfortunes, then they'd probably have a spot waiting for them over at the space centre. We accept newcomers almost on a constant basis these days.

"Where are we headed?" Lilly questions as I turn the wheel to the right and ignore a small pack of walkers who are feeding on some kind of small animal.

Rolling down the window and leaning my arm out to the side, I sigh before shrugging my shoulders. "Anywhere but here," I answer mildly, no doubt worrying the passengers on board as I explain further. "This isn't really about supplies, guys. I just… I think we just needed to get out of there for a while. Maybe let everyone cool down for a day or two before heading back."

"Well…" Ellie trails off sorely, probably still upset after having been so cold to Willis just a couple days prior, "can we at least _look _for some supplies? I mean, I don't really wanna come back to that place empty-handed or anything…"

Picking up speed a little as I steer clear of the debris and rubble that litters the road, I nod my head and tell her that we'll be sure to keep an eye out. We wouldn't ever voluntarily leave the shelter and security of the space centre without a damn good reason, so it'd definitely be a good idea to keep an eye out for some things we could use to help out back home. But honestly, with how heavy our minds are today, I'm not really holding out much hope. Today's more about relaxing than anything else.

After driving for nearly half an hour and managing to make it out east – somewhere close to a town called Galveston – I hear Jane finally say something for the first time since we left. I'm still wondering if she's pissed off at me for the whole corn incident.

"Did anyone else notice how edgy they were all getting? Even before…" she cuts herself off, choosing not to bring up me shooting Willis in order to not make things more awkward and tense. "Did that freak you guys out a little bit too, or was it just me? Because I've seen that look before, you know… especially with Racheal and Katie…"

"That's nothing new. They've been going at us like that for years now," Lilly suggests as we pass by an old road sign on the highway. Soon enough, we'll be hitting the beach and catching some rays – hopefully the damn place isn't infested when we get there. I can't even remember the last time that I was able to do something like this, and I'm pretty sure that Ellie _never _has, so hopefully it'll be a pretty nice treat for her.

Looking unconvinced, Jane frowns as she shakes her head; watching as I go to the off ramp and try to make heads or tails of where we can possibly go in this town. The Texas road map is only good for so long, since many of the street names and locations have been faded after years of use.

"I'm not being paranoid about this – seriously, there's something going on here…"

"Jane, just stop it. If it comes to that, then we bolt. Whatever happens, we'll deal with it."

"Wait, what?" I ask, pulling the truck to a stop as I put it in park and turn around in my seat. "Did I hear that right? You're actually considering just up and leaving? Just like that, no questions asked?"

"It's something we've gotta consider, Clem. Look, I know that you feel protective over these people, but we have to think about our _own _lives here. There's no two ways about this," Lilly advises, still having the same mentality even after all these years. I truly thought she would've gotten over this by now.

Frowning, I glance over at Jane and silently ask her if she's in agreement with her. Seeing as she is, I huff out in annoyance before rolling my eyes and turning back towards the task at hand – getting to this beach and having a fucking merry, old time.

Damn it! Now my mood's completely ruined! Why do we all have to be such a bunch of buzzkills?!

"Clem, this isn't something we can just ignore," Jane tells me as I stubbornly refuse to acknowledge either of them. They're starting to sound a lot like the people that they were just bashing, let me tell you. "For Christ's sakes, kid! Don't act like you hadn't thought about this before! We have to keep our own safety in mind, here – yours, mine, Lilly and Ellie's. That's what it's _always _been, Clementine."

"You know I hate it when you call me _kid_," I mock, just barely dodging an oncoming walker as I hear the truck splutter once. Alarmed, I widen my eyes as I try in vain to figure out what might be wrong, but I'm too distracted on trying to get to a little pier down on the docks nearby along with arguing to pay it much mind. "This is our _home_ guys – we can't just abandon it because of a few people getting mad at us! We have to… get our hands dirty and grease the wheels…" I mention, quoting Walter as the truck rumbles over the wooden planks of the pier.

The town has a pretty rustic feel to it, all things considered. Many of the buildings have been abandoned, with broken windows, busted doors and crumbling bricks galore, but the real attraction here is the tiny amusement park over by the docks. Many of the rides, food stalls and such appear to be on wheels, suggesting that it was run by one of those carnival groups who would go from town to town for fairs. I used to love going to these things as a child – the Cherry Blossom Festival back in Atlanta used to be held during the prettiest months of the whole year, and the cotton candy they used to sell? Delicious – the way it melted in your mouth as the sticky goodness left such an amazing taste… God, just thinking about that is making me drool.

Jane, unfortunately breaking me out of my flashback, places one foot up on the dashboard in a similar fashion as back when she, Kenny, AJ and I were travelling through the snow. "It's just something to think about, alright? If it comes to it, then we've at least got a back-up plan just in case," she tells me.

Fair enough, I suppose. It's never an easy thing to try and change the minds of Lilly and Jane, especially when they're dead-set on something, but I've found that over time, they've grown to make some exceptions for me. Anyone else? Good fucking luck – you'd have an easier time extracting blood from a stone than dealing with them.

With that matter closed in the meantime, I can't help but grin as I see Ellie's eyes light up in the back seat; having seen the place that we're heading towards as I park the truck once again. "Whoa…" she gapes, looking incredibly excited as she unclips her seatbelt. "Are we actually gonna go inside this place?!"

"We're gonna set some ground rules, first," I mention, looking smug as even Jane and Lilly look pretty thrilled to actually get a chance like this. I was worried that Jane might not like the idea of going to a carnival like this because of the memories with her sister, but she hasn't said anything yet. "You don't go anywhere – and I mean _anywhere_ – without a buddy to go with you. No excuses, no exceptions. We don't know what could be out here," I remark. "Secondly," I continue, pulling my gun out of its holster, "weapon with you at all times. Only use it as a last resort, though – loud noises are gonna attract these things like wildfire."

"Do you think any of the rides still work?" Ellie asks me, pretty much completely disregarding my previous statements as I sigh and unlock the doors. Might as well get to having some fun around here for a change…

Watching as she bounds towards the front entrance like a lightning bolt, I run my hands through my hair as Lilly chuckles behind me. "God damn it, Ellie…" I mutter, hollering for her to stay with us as she checks out the front ticket booth. It's difficult to see inside from all the dirt and dust piling up inside, but as Ellie goes to inspect it, thankfully there aren't any unwelcome visitors still inside.

Noticing that Jane and Lilly have caught up with me already, I sigh and put my hands in my pockets as we walk along.

"I think she gets that from you, ya know," Lilly nudges me in the ribs, causing me to look over at her as I raise an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, the resemblance is uncanny. It's like staring in a mirror with you two," Jane smirks, obviously exaggerating a little bit as Ellie curiously examines the first drink stall, only to end up disappointed. "You had just as much energy as she did at her age, at least. The personality's definitely the same, too, all things considered. I was starting to worry that she'd end up like Lilly over here."

"Ha ha, fuck you, too…" Lilly comes back with a snarky response, glancing at Ellie as she beckons for the three of us to move our asses.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Hurry up, I wanna see how far we can get!"

Laughing quietly as she grasps onto my hand and tries to pull me away, I shrug my shoulders at Lilly and Jane as I follow along. I'm not gonna lie, I'm excited to see what we can find around a place like this, too.

God knows we could use a break from all the bullshit in our lives.

* * *

_**Racheal's POV **_

"Things are worse than ever!" I exclaim, slamming a fist into the desk as some of my fellow survivors gather around in a circle. This has gone unsaid for too long now, and if nobody else is going to step up to the plate and speak out against this tyranny, then I will. No more hiding, no more running away from the truth.

I've had my suspicions and doubts about Clementine, Lilly and Jane since the beginning. I didn't really know what to make of them, but mostly I just thought that they were a bunch of upstart punks who didn't have a damn clue about what they were doing. If they had kept on the path they were headed towards, then it was only going to be a matter of time before somebody died.

Under their leadership, I've lost more people than I ever have before. Ever since I met them, it's been nothing short of a big fucking disaster. We were right at home in the grocery store – Tracy hadn't bothered us for weeks, the food supply was running pretty smoothly, and things were looking up for a change. We stuck together and were surviving on our own terms.

I don't know if they just carry around with them a string of bad luck or what, but ever since Clem and the rest showed up, people started getting killed again. I tried to reason it as our people just getting caught off guard after seeing a bunch of new people strolling through, and I even tried giving Clementine some advice on how to properly handle running a group – needs of the many, versus the needs of the few.

I can't even fully say that she did the wrong thing when it came to shooting that boy in the head just a little while ago, because I likely would've done the same thing. No, that's not the problem here.

It's the whole organization of this group as a whole. We never should've invited so many people inside and basically rolled out the welcome mat for anything that moved. We've been attracting far too much attention to ourselves, and that system simply hasn't been working. Why do you think so many people have tried to attack this space centre in the first place? All because they've been hearing the rumours about this magical safe haven with loads of food and supplies… we should've kept this quiet and dug ourselves in!

But no – instead, not only have we tried to bring people in from across the fucking country, visited places that we had no business in trying to go to, _and _have been far too obedient on what goes on within our own walls, but Clementine and her little pals have managed to set the space centre up in such a way as to get ourselves fucked over in the worst possible tense. We had absolutely no defense against those invaders – zero. Zilch. Nada. They could've driven a damn bulldozer through our defenses and we'd have thought that somebody was just trying to ring the doorbell. I mean, where the hell was our _supreme leader _when they had broken in? Nowhere near the main conflict, that's for sure!

And what about our watch up on top of the roof? Anyone care to explain why we had nobody looking out for those kinds of threats when we were supposed to have someone up there twenty four-seven?

Gathered in the board room with Emily, Katie, Kazuki, Scott, Kelly, Marcus and Alden, I huff out a sigh of annoyance as I shake my head in disapproval. Where the hell are Bo and James when you need them?!

"Things are falling apart around here… I knew it…" I trail off, feeling sick and tired of waiting around for the next tragedy to strike when we should be taking immediate action.

Katie, having been filling my head with these doubts for years now, steps up as we all sit down in our respective chairs. "Well," she remarks, starting the meeting off in full swing, "what are we gonna do about it? We can't just sit here doing nothing!"

"Why do you think we're in here in the first place? Do you think we're just trying to play fucking charades or something?" Marcus comments dryly as I glare at him to shut up. Most of us pretty much already know where he stands with Clem, Jane and Lilly, seeing as how they've been pretty tight-knit since the beginning.

That's just making this so much more difficult for me to suggest, since I also know that a bunch of us are either on the fence about the trio, or on one side or the other when it comes to them. Am I biased? Maybe, but that's only because I want what's best for my group members here.

And I'm starting to really question whether that's what Clementine wants, also.

Knowing that this is gonna be an unpopular opinion, I clear my throat and toss out my suggestions for debate. "The way I see it, we've got two options to choose from," I mention, folding my hands together like a boss of some big-shot corporation. "One: we sneak away in the night, grab a bunch of the supplies and dip before the cracks get any bigger."

"…and the second one?" Scott inquires, as thankfully nobody really makes a move to strike that suggestion down just yet. Maybe they're finally starting to see things in the bigger picture.

Taking a deep breath, I relay my other idea as calmly as I possibly can. This one could be a bit of a doozie. "Option two…" I mutter, having to speak up afterwards so that people in the back can hear. "…we force a coup d'état. Take over the leadership of the space centre ourselves and kick Clem, Jane and Lilly out. Personally, I'm leaning more towards option two."

All is quiet for a few seconds as the group mulls over the possible idea. I'm not sure that any of them have actually ever thought of something like this before, mainly because they've all been drinking the Kool-Aid for far too long now. We've been spoon-fed these bullshit lines about how we're going to be the saviours of the human race and that we can really make a difference in the world, but all I've been seeing are a bunch of ragtag survivors just trying to live day to day. We can't change the world, here – we need to adapt to the one we're living in.

Emily is the first to speak out against it, which doesn't really surprise me in the slightest. She's always had a good heart, but sometimes that can lead her down the wrong path. "Racheal… I've been with you practically since this whole mess began. I trust you with my life, don't get me wrong… but doesn't this seem a little extreme? Don't you think? I mean, we've been with these people for eight years!"

"Sentimentality isn't going to get us anywhere," Kelly disagrees, surprising me as I thought for sure that she'd be against this kind of thing. "I'll admit that kicking them out of the group isn't a great way to go about this, but maybe we should settle on a vote where – "

"Voting won't do shit unless we have some force behind it. You've seen how they can twist people's words around," Katie adds in, getting a round of realization from some of the people as Kazuki gives her opinion next.

"I've seen and heard of worse things before," she vaguely recalls as we all listen to what she has to say. "We're not going to kill anybody here – Emily's got a point, though. They're not a bunch of psychopaths, and Clem's trying her best…"

"That's your opinion. I think they've been running this place into the ground since the beginning," I mention, finding it difficult to try and maintain this as a calm, rational discussion without venting about my true feelings.

Shaking her head and folding her arms across her chest, Emily clearly doesn't want to do this as she speaks up once again. "I'm staying, that's that. I won't be a part of this – no matter what you all might think, Clem, Lilly and Jane have done alright by us, and for me to suddenly turn on them now would be a slap in the face."

"Elliot's _dead _because of a stupid decision to send us to Missouri, all so Little Miss Barbecue over here could get her revenge on some punk! You call that _leadership_?"

Not appreciating getting all the attention thrown back onto her, Kaz looks ashamed as she practically shrivels up into a ball in her seat. She gets very little sympathy from the rest of us, however, because she had definitely taken that whole killing thing _way _too far. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget Kelly's face when I saw her coming back to the rest of us that day – pure terror. She was afraid of what Kaz was becoming, and Clementine practically gave her the opportunity to do it. If we had just stayed here…

"…we all know why she did it – it wasn't just about Joshua, but also about helping the people in need. That's what we do here, and what Clem was trying to do back then. And now look – we've got a prosperous trading system going with those same people, and our people can go to sleep without hungry bellies all the time," Emily explains, having a bit of a point as we all listen intently. "Believe me, I'm pissed and upset about Elliot not being around anymore, too… but it's been five years. We can keep on blaming them for his death and never agree on anything, or we can keep moving forward. That's what he'd want for us, and if he were here, he'd tell you the same thing. Tossing them out after all the good those three have done for us… it's not right."

As much as I hate to admit it, Emily isn't exactly wrong about those points. Even with all of the poor decisions that have been going on, even I can't deny that having a food trade isn't exactly a bad way to live these days. It's kept us pretty well fed when it's actually worked, even though I'm fairly certain that we'd be able to just grow our own out in the fields somewhere. If it worked for our early ancestors, then why wouldn't it work for us?

The attitude of the group appears to be mixed right now, with a lot of confused faces of people that I truly care about. Don't get me wrong – I care about Clem, Ellie, Lilly and Jane, too. In fact, in more ways than one I even respect them for what they've accomplished. But respect and survival are two very different things, and I personally feel that they're starting to lose their edge. They're taking us down a path that's not going to end well for any of us, and the last thing that I want to do is get caught in the middle of it all.

I just want to live – is that really too much to ask?

"…before you come to a decision, there's probably something else about Clementine that y'all ought to know."

Every pair of eyes in the room turns back towards the door, where the last person we ever expected to find is standing there; hunched to the side as a metallic, prosthetic arm has been replaced on his severed limb. It takes me a while to recognize the man, because his bald head and hairless face from the chemotherapy has made it very difficult to do so, but that voice is indistinguishable.

None of us have seen Bo in five years, and somehow, against all odds, he's come back to the Houston Space Centre with a grave message.

"Holy shit…" Alden mumbles in disbelief as Bo smirks over at him. "Well, I'll be damned! Where the heck have you been, good sir? You couldn't drop us a radio message or anything to let us know you guys were alright? Is James with you right now? Is he okay?"

"He's fine – we're _both _fine," he reassures the man, patting Alden on the back as he turns towards the rest of us with a grim expression. "Look… I know dropping in like this after so long is wrong of me to do, especially after the way we left… but Clementine is _not _the person you think she is. Neither am I, but this is different…"

Puzzled and extremely curious, I stand up as I watch him come more into the light as the candle's flame rustles in the wind. We're trying to save up on generator juice for when we really need it, so this'll have to do in the meantime. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Keeping everyone on the edge of their seats in anticipation, Bo sighs deeply as he coughs into his shirt sleeve and shakes his head. "Eight years ago, right around the time that most of you came to this place," he mentions, nodding towards some of the survivors as we all grow impatient, "Zayne… Clementine killed him late that night. Knifed him in the chest and bit deep into his hand to cover it all up."

Sinking back into my seat without a word in my mouth to come out, I sit in that chair for about five seconds before scrunching my fists together and clenching my teeth tightly. "No… it can't be…" I icily state, finding it more and more plausible as he goes on.

And none of us even had a fucking clue.

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

"Alright, lemme have a go at this thing."

Turning my head to the left as I hear her voice flowing through my ears, I oblige as Jane steps up to the platform and clasps her hands around some of the plastic rings. Standing there and sporting a determined look on her face, I can't help but think that she looks so cute when she's really getting into something.

…no. I can't feel that way, not anymore. All it's going to lead to is heartache and pain, and I won't subject myself to that sort of torture anymore. It's better this way, for the both of us. I'm sure it is…

Flicking the ring with her wrist, Jane misses the bottle completely as she tries her luck once again. And again… and again… and again. Four missed attempts later, and I stifle my laughter as Jane audibly groans in annoyance.

"Carnies were always a bunch of cheating pricks – made these things so that nobody could ever win anything," Jane complains, trying to justify her poor performance as she tosses another ring that goes way past its mark.

Watching as she hops over the ledge to retrieve the failed attempts at winning, I wait for her to return and miss two more shots before deciding to step in. "Here," I tell her, stepping up so that I'm almost brushed up against her back. Grabbing onto her right hand with mine, I can feel her tense up against me as I guide her on how to do this properly. "You need to relax your forearm a little more, like this. See? Now just let it go…" I instruct, gently moving with her in one fluid motion as we hit one of the bottles dead-centre.

I don't mean to boast or anything (or maybe I do), but I've always been naturally gifted at these sorts of games. Whenever my Dad was out on a tour with the army, my Mom would usually try to take my mind off of things by going out with me around the city. The carnies always used to get annoyed at how I was somehow able to win at their games, and one time the guy got so angry that he refused to give me the giant stuffed panda that I had rightfully earned.

Unfortunately for him, that was the one day that my Dad was _not _overseas. One big threat and an annoyed Caul scowl later, and I ended up getting a panda bear as well as a giant snake that I wrapped around my shoulders for the rest of the day; showing off my sweet, sweet victory in style. Sometimes it paid to be mean.

Jane, wanting to try that again, allows me to guide her through it once more as we score yet another point. I can't help but giggle as she does a little victory dance and claim that she's the queen of games once again, but what's more surprising is when she brings me in close and tightly wraps her arms around my shoulders. My cheek brushes against hers as I widen my eyes, but I'm slowly drawn back to our time spent together as I feel her fingers tracing along the back of my jacket. Having secretly longed for the touch of somebody again after having been denied it for so long, I pull apart from her for a second as we come face to face; mouths only mere inches from each other as her lids start to close halfway.

I can feel her warm breath upon my lips as she draws closer and closer, obviously desiring this as much as I do. A faint blush forms on her cheeks as her pinkish-red lips just beg for me to come crashing down, and I desperately want to get a taste as I narrow in for the finishing blow… but in an instant of realization, just as I give her a quick peck on the mouth, she pulls away and turns from me. The moment is over almost as soon as it's begun.

"I… I…" she stutters, trying to ease her troubled mind as she places a hand over her mouth. Meanwhile, I continue to dream of a kiss that never was.

Irritated that she's being like this, I frown slightly and place the remaining rings on the ledge for next time. Perhaps somebody else will be able to try their hand at this someday. "Jane…" I trail off, wanting to understand her better, "there's still something here between us, and you know it. Fuck me if this ends up sounding cliché as hell… but when are you going to admit that you still have feelings for me?"

"It can't… it can't ever be…" she flat-out refuses, breaking my already shattered heart a little bit as I stand there looking like an idiot. "Lilly… what we had… was a _fling_. A one-time deal that never should've amounted to anything more… We both let ourselves get too close… too attached…"

"…then why do I not believe you?"

Slowly spinning around, distraught written all over her face, Jane tries to come up with any plausible reasoning as I stand there waiting for an answer. Either way, my mind's pretty much made up. Tossing fucking rings onto a few bottles for ten minutes have proven to be the most fun that I've had in five years, so if that alone doesn't tell you that something's been missing, then I don't know what will.

Odd then, how conflicted my feelings were about Jane just a short while ago. I was stuck in tunnel vision for too long – forcing myself to think that Jane was once again just a friend and fellow survivor, instead of veering off course and seeing her in a different light entirely.

"I thought we went over this…" she grumbles, keeping her distance as I take a step forward. "There's no room for that sort of thing – not out here, not in a world like this. What if one of us gets killed, huh? What's gonna happen when one of us gets too close?"

"It's a little late to say that now, don't you think?"

"You don't understand! God… I can't let myself get to that point! It'd… it'd kill me inside…" she admits, looking more and more like the vulnerable one instead of it being the other way around. "Why can't you just accept it that this is how it has to be?"

Giving her the most honest answer I can think of, I slowly try to approach her as I place one of my hands softly on Jane's arm; rubbing it back and forth as I try to explain my feelings. "Because I don't think it does…" I tell her, letting go when she shakes her head in opposition.

"Lilly… just because we're not together anymore… doesn't mean that I don't love you…"

With that, she turns away and heads deeper into the fair, leaving me to my thoughts alone as I try to digest this information. Nothing's physically preventing us from getting back together, and yet… no matter how much we might wish it were different… there's something still pulling us apart. We're not the same people that we were beforehand – we've changed. We used to let our guards down for each other, and that lead to a world of hurt.

Maybe she's right. Maybe I'm right. Maybe this just wasn't meant to be, and that a relationship would only lead to catastrophe. But we started on a path back then – before the space centre, before the Fireflies… Hell, even before fucking Texas as far as I'm concerned. Despite loathing each other in the beginning, I knew there was something different about Jane. Our relationship with one another buckled and swayed, keeled over and sprouted back up again, all to lead to this.

And now, I can't imagine a life without her. If she wants to keep things the way they are, then fine. I'll do it – I'll make that sacrifice for her.

Because I'd rather have her as a friend than to not have her at all.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"Holy fucking cheese balls!"

"Ellie, wait up! What'd I say when we left the truck, huh?" I holler after her, finding it difficult to keep up with all of her running around right now. The girl's been on the move since we got here, and just _had _to check out every single ride and candy stall available. She even managed to find a pack of Skittles back there, so… mission accomplished, I suppose.

As if that really does anything other than make me even hungrier. Man I could go for a candy apple right about now…

Wondering what sort of crazy fascination she's come up with this time, I skid to a halt as I see the machine – an old antique merry-go-round, complete with horses, unicorns, donkeys and everything in between. It's pretty beautiful, I'll give it that; with its marble interior finishing, wooden platform, various patterns and decorations adorning the top half of the thing, along with the bronze-coloured poles attached to the various plastic animals. The colours are a vibrant mix of everything under the rainbow, and I can't help but admire the condition that the carousel's been left in. The thing's barely been touched ever since the dead came back to life.

"Check it out! Isn't it cool?" Ellie mentions even though I can't see where she's scampered off to. She's not sitting on any of the horses, and I can't spot her spunky, red hair, so where could she be?

"Ellie?" I call out, stepping up onto the carousel platform as I search high and low. "Come on, Els! Quit screwing around! Where are – WHOA!"

Having to stabilize myself on one of the poles as my legs wobble, I feel myself getting lifted up and down with the movement of the trust steed as the merry-go-round springs back into life. After a few seconds of realizing what this means, I can't help but chuckle like a kid as I stand myself up and watch as Ellie pounces onto the scene.

"It's alive, Dr. Frankenstein! Mwhahahaha!" she chuckles maniacally as she climbs aboard one of the ponies near the back. For some reason, however, her backpack seems to be heavier than usual… and more… _wet_. "Well, what are you waiting for, Clem? Hop on!" she encourages, having the time of her life as the music starts to blare. "Don't worry about it – we've swiped this carnival clean! If anything comes creeping up, we'll spot it first."

Deciding to just go with it instead of shutting the thing down in fear, I reluctantly climb up onto the horse and hold onto the pole. Feeling myself bobbing up and down like this… it's breathtaking. I wouldn't be able to tell you in words just how magical it feels to be hanging out like this again and actually being able to enjoy myself for a change. I never thought that I'd be able to go on an amusement park ride like this ever again.

Leaning my head back and swinging on my seat, I giggle with mirth as I feel the wind blowing against my face. For once, I'm without a care in the world. The weight of my responsibilities back home has been lifted off my shoulders, and for one small moment, I can actually relax without any stress attached to it. I don't want this moment to end.

"Hey, Clem?" Ellie asks as I slowly turn around. In an instant, I wish that I hadn't, as out of her backpack comes a partially-loaded water gun that she loads and fires straight at my face. "HAHAHAHA! WATER FIGHT!"

"Ahh! Why you little…! No fair!" I chuckle, spitting water out of my mouth as I try to deflect the coming onslaught. Jane and Lilly walk over to us seconds later as they smile lightly, but as much as I try to invite them on board, neither of them seem to be in much of a mood to do so right now. I wonder why? "Blech! Ugh, I think it went up my nose!" I complain, feeling another plastic water gun enter my hands as Ellie pulls a second one from her backpack. "Big mistake there, rookie! Now you're _so _getting drenched! C'mere!"

Pumping the gun a few times and squeezing the trigger, Ellie tries to dart away as the carousel comes to a stop; circling around the thing in a vain attempt to get away from the water war she started. Having such a blast as I manage to soak some of her red, long-sleeved shirt, I chuckle as she tries to wipe her eyes dry.

"Crap, I think you got me…" she says, laughing alongside me as she takes a few steps forward. "Man, we totally need to bring these bad boys back to the space station! I bet they'd get a kick out of these things!"

"Yeah? Well, good luck trying to spray Racheal with a tank full of water… She'd probably try to kick your – "

Suddenly, Ellie slips on the small puddle that we made with our water guns on the floor of the carousel; causing her to fall off the edge as my parental instincts go into overdrive. Caught in the fence right behind the merry-go-round is a walker that must've heard the loud music we were creating, and my heart stops as she snatches onto Ellie's other arm. I can't get a good shot off from this angle without also shooting the girl in the process, so I quickly yell for Jane and Lilly to come help as the three of us spring into action.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" she screams in pain as the beast bites through some of her skin, leaving a pretty deep dent in her forearm as she terrifyingly pulls away. Fear strangles my throat in a vice as Jane buries her hunting knife deep into the walker's skull, with Lilly and I pulling the young girl to safety as she crawls back towards the front side of the control panel.

"Oh my god… oh my god…" Ellie wheezes, trying in vain to hide her bite from our two companions but failing to do so in time. Lilly spots it almost instantly as Jane catches on, and the two of them can hardly believe their eyes as they try their best not to burst into tears.

My eyes, to their surprise, are completely dry.

"…god damn it…" Lilly mumbles under her breath. Clearly they're both under the impression that she's going to die, but they don't know what I do about her. "Just… how could this have happened?"

"I-I'm sorry! It all just happened so fast! One moment we were playing with the squirt guns, and… and then the next…" Ellie stutters, her bottom lip quivering in fear as she glances over at me with tears in her eyes. "Clem… am… am I…?"

"No, you're gonna be just fine, alright? She'll be _just fine_," I make a point of reiterating, glancing sharply over at Lilly and Jane as they both look skeptically at me. "She's… she's not like everyone else, alright? Ellie's… she can make it through this!" I excuse myself, trying to block them from approaching as I hold my arms out to my sides. I have neglected to tell them the most important bit just yet, mainly because I've been stifling it down in my soul for so long now.

I never wanted it to come to this. Not today, not ever. But at least it's with Jane and Lilly instead of anyone else. They'll be sure to understand… right?

Apparently not though, as Jane places her hands calmly on my shoulders in an attempt to get me to move. "Clem… I know this is tough, but…"

"No, you don't understand!"

Stepping in to help, Lilly tries to grasp onto my arm so that I'll move completely out of the way, but as soon as she tries to nudge me aside, I shake off her grip violently and pull out my pistol; aiming it straight towards them. "No! Don't you take another step! Just… fuck!" I cry out, with my hands shaking as I watch their faces turn from utter shock to understanding.

"_Do it – do what needs to be done," _Carver commands in my head, appearing in his fluffy, brown coat behind them with his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face. _"You don't need them in your life, Clementine. Not anymore. They don't get it. None of them will."_

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" I screech out, having another episode as Jane and Lilly glance towards each other fearfully. "Get… get out… you don't belong here…"

"Clementine… you need to out down the gun. Okay?" Jane tells me firmly, creeping closer towards me as I continue to shake my head. I can't hold this in for any longer. "We're not going to do anything rash, alright? We just wanna talk it over a little bit, and give you a chance to say your last goodbyes."

"_Sweet pea… they need to know. Just get it off your chest," _Lee tells me, with what feels like a thousand other voices in my head egging me on and telling me the exact same thing.

Choking out a sob as I sink to my knees, I drop the gun as Lilly bends down in front of me in a crouched position. She opens her mouth to say something, but I beat her to the punch.

"She's immune…" I reveal, practically choking on the words after having kept them buried for so long. "The bite won't do anything to her… Ellie's immune to the virus… She can't get infected…"


	32. Modern knights

_AN: Hey guys :) Just wanted to pop in to answer that guest's question…_

_I think that'd be a pretty interesting idea, actually. Lilly and Kenny think and act very differently from one another, and it really is (at least in my mind) a pretty big part of what made parts of season one entertaining – seeing things from different points of view, and then getting to act (as Lee) on which side you're on, or if you're even on a side AT ALL. I was just talking with Soon the Apocalypse about this the other day actually, and he brought up an interesting point. Lilly was the most ideal candidate to be an opposing force or ideal against Kenny, mainly because of her determination and will to survive contrasting with Kenny's desire to be a family man struggling to keep his loved ones alive. That's a big thing that season two was sorely missing, and although I still think that Jane was a pretty decent substitute, in the end it just wasn't the same._

_So, to answer your question… I'm gonna think about it. Right now I kind of have a lot on my plate in terms of fics, so it might not be for a while, but I'm thinking of making a story where Lilly actually doesn't take off in the RV after shooting Carley/Doug – looking through her perspective and what might be different going into the end of season one and such. _

_I really like your idea – Lilly and Kenny (although, as I'm sure people have noticed, I tend to prefer one more than the other) are very memorable and influential characters, and so having them look after Clementine would just be a party every single day lol. Thanks for the suggestion!_

_Also, another big thanks goes to Galen Devereaux for all of the awesome suggestions – at least one of which I'm going to incorporate into this chapter! If you guys haven't seen his work, go check him out on his page, along with all of the other reviewers on here! Paradoxilla, Aqua and Meg all have awesome stuff up their sleeves themselves, so be sure to read through them. You won't be disappointed._

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"She's immune… The bite won't do anything to her… Ellie's immune to the virus… She can't get infected…"

_Immune. Immune. Immune. _

I've used that word so many times, gone through it so much in my brain that the words hardly mean anything anymore. I've had years to contemplate what this could all mean – why this would happen to her, what the consequences could be, whether or not she's the only one in the entire world with this… _gift_. Bleh, I don't even know whether to call it that anymore. It's not as if she _asked _for it or anything.

But what I think of it is irrelevant. Completely, totally, utterly. All because I have no real authority over what goes down with Ellie's body whatsoever. It should be _her decision_, and her decision _alone_. So yes, I have been a hypocrite in this… sheltering her away from the truth and keeping her secret tightly under wraps. But were it somebody else… someone's child, a sibling, a close friend, a husband or wife… would they not do the same?

Assuming that all three of them (Ellie herself included) probably have about a billion and a half questions to ask me, I sigh; shuddering deep within my chest as I reopen my eyes and blankly stare at the two women who've been with me almost throughout this entire ordeal. And what happens?

Out of the corner of Lilly's mouth, I see it. A twitch… a ghost of a smirk. Jane pretends that she's coughing when I know that she's trying to control a snort from breaking out from across her lips. She'd probably be in full-on laughter mode if they didn't already believe that Ellie was going to die.

Irritated that they would actually think I would deliberately make something of this grand nature up, I frown deeply. "You… you seriously don't believe me?" I infer, making sure that I glance towards the both of them a second time to make sure that I'm not seeing things. "You've got to be kidding me right now…"

"Look, Clem… I know that you two are close… but making up excuses like this isn't – "

"I'm telling you the truth!" I interrupt Lilly, casting her a sharp look as I try to drill it through their heads. It's definitely not easy though, not only because I'm having trouble keeping a straight face with Ellie in so much pain, but also because this isn't something you hear every day. I'll admit – listening to somebody saying how they're immune to the very same virus that's already claimed the lives of millions would probably make me roll my eyes too.

But I saw it. I sat with Ellie that entire night and barely heard a peep from her as her friend turned into a vicious monster right beside me. I know for a fact that what I saw was god damn real, and I've actually got the evidence this time to back it up.

With Jane still thinking that I'm crazy as well, I huff out before folding my arms and standing up; turning towards Ellie as she sits there clutching her wound. "Clem, come on… I'm so sorry, but there's no other way around it… Denial's not going to help anyone," Lilly advises as she tries to get through to me. "Just… let us help out, alright? This… this can't be the same as before… not like AJ…"

Feeling an icy sting at her words that I'm fairly certain she hadn't meant, I pause for a moment as I close my eyes and clench a fist tightly. I couldn't save him… No matter how hard I tried to keep him alive, no matter how much I begged and pleaded for him to wake up from his little nap and cry out for nourishment, in the end I couldn't pull any magic from under my blue and white cap. I killed that boy with my negligence… am I slowly doing the same thing with Ellie?

…that can't be right. If that was the case, then why is she still here? Why has she grown into a smart, independent, highly adventurous young girl if I had done something wrong? Think of it this way: would Jane have tried so hard with me back then if she thought that I was a waste of time? Not likely. In fact, she probably wouldn't have even spared me a passing glance if she thought I wasn't capable enough. I wasn't Jaime. Ellie isn't AJ.

Although I still heavily grieve for the boy even to this day, I manage to brush that comment behind me and focus on the task at hand – this is what's important now. The best thing I can do is to try with the hand I've been given.

"Roll down your sleeve, Ellie," I command, not really giving her a choice as my piercing, golden eyes stare her down. "Show it to them."

Looking torn between the abrupt decision – rightly so after all that I've been feeding through her head over time – Ellie distrustfully glances over at Lilly and Jane out of the corner of her eye. It's a sad sight to behold, seeing how insecure she can become within the span of a moment. "But… you said never to – "

"It's too late for that now," I cut in, wishing this wasn't so just as much as she does. "Just… we need to prove it to them," I add while taking a step towards her; offering my hand so that she can rise to her feet. "Pull down your sleeve. If there's anyone left that we could trust… anyone in the world… it'd be them. Let them see."

Hesitation shrouds her in a cloud of uncertainty as Ellie grasps at the thin, cotton fabric in between two of her fingers; carefully dragging it up her forearm as she winces upon disturbing her more recently-fresh wound. I need to find something to clean that up with as soon as possible, but due to the fact that I can't convince my friends of this revelation on my own, that's going to have to wait. This would be so much easier if I had some sort of mind-control device…

Ellie breathes a sharp intake of air in between her teeth as I actually hear her whistle slightly for the first time, but I don't bring it up as the situation is far too delicate for that sort of thing right now. It strikes a chord in me to see the wound again – a jagged, scarred half-crescent mark upon her forearm that's actually grown with her as her body's gotten bigger. It's really old now and doesn't hurt her in the slightest, but upon closer inspection (and in the fading daylight) I can see that the bite had caused her arm to swell pretty badly at some point. The mark had reacted fairly violently against her immune system and had puffed up like a bad allergic reaction, but thankfully she had won out on this round.

I turn around to judge Lilly's reaction, seeing as Jane has voluntarily left to try and gather stuff to at least stop the bleeding (even though she thinks it'll be in vain), and I'm actually a little pensive about it. Lilly's face is as white as a sheet, with her eyes wide and overbearing while her mouth is slightly agape. I wasn't exactly sure how she would take it, but from this first glance, it doesn't seem too good.

"…what the actual fuck…" she mutters, having to hold herself up by the back of a bench as she shakes her head violently. "No… this… this isn't real… It can't be… Jane, get over here, now! JANE!" she yells out urgently, wanting the woman to see this for herself as I lower my gaze to the ground and fold my hands together.

"Yeah," I tell her softly, "it was hard for me to wrap my head around it at first, too."

Hearing the ragged footsteps of Jane creeping up on us in the distance, I look over at Lilly once more as she stares me down long and hard. This should be fun to explain…

"…how long have you known?"

Glancing over at Ellie in exhaustion as she snivels and clutches her bleeding arm, I rub my fingers tenderly over her amber locks in comfort – perhaps more so for me than for her at this point. The thick, red liquid squirts through her fingers as Jane returns from her scavenger hunt; coming up with some makeshift bandages in the form of an entire roll of paper towels as she nearly drops them to the ground in front of us. This'll have to do in the meantime until we can find something better.

Knowing that Ellie is gonna hate me for bringing this up, I sigh and relent. No use in trying to avoid the unbridled truth of this now. It's far too late to turn back and run away.

"…it was when Riley died… eight years ago…"

"Jesus fucking Christ, Clementine…"

"It was a walker in the basement, not a bandit – must've snuck in while they were playing. Neither of them were big enough to take on the thing themselves when it got the jump on them…" I recall, looking apologetically over at Ellie as I turn my head and speak directly towards her. "I… I had to put her down while you were sleeping… and covered it up so that no one would find out."

At this point, Ellie is already staring at me with hurt and betrayal, as I had never really mentioned what truly became of her best friend up to this point. All that I said was that Riley was at peace and that she wouldn't suffer any longer, but not once did I say that I had to put her down after she turned.

As for Jane and Lilly, well… let's just say that I think today is the day that our trust is starting to go downhill. Lilly practically has smoke billowing out of her ears, Jane looks like a confused puppy tilting its head to the side, and I'm just sitting here letting it all sink in. I wonder if this would've been easier if I had just mentioned it to them in private like I told myself I would do after that whole mess in Ranger's Grove. The shock value would probably remain the same at first, but over time they probably would've come to accept it. Heck, maybe they would've even helped me try to keep it a secret as well.

Right now, though? Yeah… that's probably not going to go over very well at all.

"Here, Ellie…" I mutter, picking up the paper towel and trying to wrap it around her arm in order to avoid another awkward pause. However, when she simply snatches the material away and thanks Jane without even sparing me a passing glance, I nod in acknowledgement and leave her be. Looks like she needs to be alone for a little while.

Hovering near the bench, Lilly eyes the little girl as if she's about to burst into flames at any second; probably half-expecting a walker to come pouncing through her skin and trying to attack us all. Knowing that I'm probably in very hot water at this point, I stand up and walk towards them, asking if there's somewhere private we can talk.

Jane gives me the dirtiest look I've ever seen as she silently turns around and beckons for the three of us to head over to a balloon popping game – more than likely the spot where Ellie managed to pilfer those water guns from. A whole flock of plastic, baby ducks floats in the water with the popped balloons, leading me to believe that they used to be tied onto them before.

"Where do I even fucking begin here…" she trails off, waiting for Lilly to catch up as she hands Ellie an extra pistol and tells her that we'll all be right back. Ha, not if Jane tears my head off first, we won't! "So… she's really…?"

"Yes," I answer shortly, barely even registering her words as I look at the cute, yellow ducks floating in the algae-infested water. No way am I taking a sip out of that, no thank you.

Jane grasps at her short hair and paces back and forth as Lilly catches up to use, standing on the other side of me with her arms folded as I continue to ogle the ducks. "I'm just trying to understand your thought process here…" Lilly reprimands as I try to deflect the verbal lashings I'm about to receive. "Let me get this straight – you've known about Ellie's… _condition_… for eight years. _Eight_. And you haven't said a word about this to anyone at all?"

"That's the gist of it, yeah."

"Don't give me the attitude alright, Clem? You don't have the right," Lilly angrily tells me, spinning my shoulder around so that I'm facing the both of them more clearly. Matching their pissed off looks with a cold, steely one of my own, I don't buck under their scolding glances.

"I don't need to explain myself if I'm going to get interrogated about it the whole damn time…"

"Actually, Clementine, you kind of _do_," Jane argues, also not appreciating my behaviour. Well, that makes two of us then, Jane. "I can't believe you right now… How… how fucking selfish did you have to be?"

"Excuse me?!" I erupt, getting all up in her grill as Lilly practically slams me back into the carnie stand. "The hell do either of you know about being _selfless_, huh?! Telling me to leave Sarah behind to die and then abandoning us afterwards, shooting Carley in the fucking head when she pissed you off?! Oh yeah, we've got ourselves a couple of real angels over here, yes sir! Don't act like I'm in the wrong on this!"

"You listen to me," Lilly warns, pointing a finger at me as she glowers down. Curse my stupid short height! "This right here? Our actions pale in comparison right now, Clementine. Do you have any idea what you've been holding back all this time? Do you have any idea what this could've meant?!"

Pushing her finger away from me, I get more pissed off and upset than I have been in quite a while. It just so happens that Jane and Lilly, unfortunately, are taking the brunt of my anger. "Oh I've had a pretty grand old time figuring that out for myself, Lilly. I'm not an idiot!" I argue, fists clenching so hard that my fingers feel as though they're about to break.

I see Jane tense up a little bit as she spots how worked up we're all getting about this, but nonetheless she keeps on egging me for more. God damn, now I know how Kenny must've felt back then…

"James and Bo have been working on a cure – a _cure_, Clem. Ellie _is _that cure. We… we could've been…" she cuts herself off, finding it difficult to keep going without blowing up as she turns around to let off some steam. "I don't even know anymore… How is this even a choice? How… how could you have not mentioned this to _anybody?! _Our lives – no, _everyone's _life – could be back to normal by now!"

I understand where they're coming from, I truly do. Lilly and Jane, like me and so many others, have lost their entire family and friends due to the dead coming back to life, and to find out that I've been harboring the cure for myself… ok, fine. Yeah, it was damn selfish of me. In fact, one could even argue that I'm one of the worst people on the planet for this shit.

But on the other hand…

"…do you know what they do back at the space station? Do you have any idea what they were up to with this so-called "cure"?" I question, using quotation marks with my fingers and feeling my face grow hot as I reveal stage two of my secrets. "Before you guys found me again at the space centre… before I even knew Ellie existed… James and Bo were… _experimenting_. On _people_. They were carving their heads open and sucking out brain fluid through tubes!" I exclaim, startling them into silence as I continue my tale. "They killed people by the hundreds to try and find their miracle cure. There were stacks of bodies rotting in the corner, all of whom were people they claimed to be _bad apples_. Bandits, stray travellers, other survivors, you name it."

Looking as though she doesn't know whether I'm telling the truth or just acting paranoid, Lilly stares down at her feet as she closes her eyes and softly breathes through her nose.

"When you guys and your group came in and attacked, killing most of the scientists at the place, James couldn't handle the amount of people they were bringing in… so he started cutting the number down to something he and Bo could handle," I remark, turning towards Lilly as I lift her chin up. "Those records you found way back then?" I mention, sparking her memory as she slowly nods her head. "They were about the people he was experimenting on. All of those "patients" were people that he and Bo plucked off the street and strapped to a chair. Nobody was volunteering to help some sort of bullshit cause… they were murdered so that he could continue his research. They needed live test subjects the whole time."

"…fuck," Jane shudders, glancing back towards Ellie as she continues to sit near the carousel quietly. "So… in order to save us… Ellie…"

"They'd kill her, Jane," I whisper, not wanting to say it too loud in case she happens to eavesdrop on our conversation at the wrong time. "Don't you see? I couldn't let that happen to her… This wasn't her fault – Ellie doesn't deserve to die for this. It's their mess, and they can clean it up themselves."

Jane looks absolutely sick to her stomach, but I'm still not sure if that's to do with knowing that Ellie would have to die in order to save everyone, or whether it's that there's a possibility that we could've all been vaccinated years ago if I had just spoken up about it. I know that deep down, the two of them are survivalists, with that being the primary force of thinking on their minds at almost all times, and that they're having a tough time understanding my reasoning behind all of this madness.

But the least I can do is to try and get them to see things from my point of view, isn't it?

"What if it was Jaime? Or Larry who was the cure to all humankind?"

"Don't even try to make that comparison, Clementine… this isn't the same thing…"

"What if it was?" I probe, ignoring Lilly's remark as I try to get it to sink into their heads. "Would you be willing to let your loved ones die just to save a bunch of strangers? I mean… how do we even know that this'll even _work_?"

"Ellie's not your family, Clem!" Lilly barks at me, stinging a little but not making a dent regardless.

"Well, she fucking might as well be! Because we're the only family she's got left!" I lash out, trying to strike some feelings into the cold-hearted vixens with no small amount of success. "Whether you like it or not, _we _are her family, now. And guys… Is there anything you wouldn't do for your family?"

Hook, line and sinker. I watch as Jane's eyes start to take on a softer turn no matter how much she tries to fight it, and even Lilly lightly groans as she bites her lip and kicks the dirt in frustration. No matter how much they may try and deny it, the two of them care deeply about that little girl's wellbeing. I may have pushed the bias a little further with that, too, seeing as how they probably would've thrown Ellie under the bus if they had known about her immunity back when they had just met her. But… it's better this way. Ellie is my responsibility – I made a promise to myself as well as her deceased mother back in Houston that I'd look out for her.

And that's what I intend to do, for better or worse. I won't make the same mistakes again.

"Grr… fucking hell…" Lilly mumbles under her breath, with that infamous Caul grouchiness coming in full swing. With a heavy sigh and one annoyed look back at me, she turns on her heel and starts to head towards the exit. "Let's just get out of here… I need a little time to think…"

"We all definitely do," I say to myself as Jane heads over towards Ellie, with me tossing a stone into the green water behind me as the ducks float away from the ripple. As she leads the young girl back towards the truck with a heavy heart, with me watching as I deflatedly look on, I can only stand there and wonder if I've done the right thing.

I ask this because I seriously don't know anymore.

* * *

My slow walk back towards our vehicle turns into a jog, and then a full-on sprint as I notice the unwelcome visitors coming towards us – at least twenty walkers coming in from god knows where, all with an insatiable hunger for human flesh as Jane, Lilly and Ellie all wait impatiently outside the truck. They haven't had to fire off a shot yet thankfully, but waiting for an impending attack is making them a little antsy.

Fumbling in my jacket pocket for the keys, I nearly drop them underneath one of the tires as I nervously clutch them in my hands; unlocking the doors as everyone steps in.

"Seatbelts," I remind everyone, sounding like a broken record as I try to twist the key in the ignition; wary of the walkers who are nearly upon us. However, as I should've guessed after hearing the truck splutter on the way over here, some kind of weird noise occurs when I twist the keys instead of that wonderful engine sound that we're all used to. "No… no, no, no, not fucking now! Are you serious?!" I complain, trying to get the hunk of metal started three more times before lightly slapping my palm against the leather steering wheel.

"Are we out of gas?" Lilly asks me from the back seat, but I check the fuel gauge only to see that the bar is still at halfway.

"No," I complain, tapping on the meter as she pokes her head up in between the seats. "We should have more than enough to get back. Any idea what else it could be?"

Crawling up to the front and practically having to sit on Jane's lap to check things out for herself, Lilly ignores the woman's mutters of worry as she tries to judge the problem for herself. "Hmm…" she hums, our previous argument forgotten for the moment as a pressing issue rains down on us, "maybe… no, that won't work. Never mind. How's about… maybe we could try…"

"Uh… guys?" Jane worriedly tries to get our attention as Ellie is paralyzed with fear in the back seat, but Lilly and I are too distracted to pay much attention to her.

"What do you think it could be?"

"More than likely the engine's fried," she grunts, twisting the key again before nodding her head. "Yep, definitely the engine. Hear that hissing sound? That's what we get for not keeping up with the maintenance on these things."

"Guys!" Jane interrupts a little bit louder, tapping on Lilly's shoulder incessantly just as the first fist bangs on the window to the left of me; startling me back into my seat as Ellie shrieks lightly behind me. The walkers have arrived, and have come in force.

Four of them quickly make their way to my side, with their rotten teeth clambering against the window pane as their disgusting, dirty nails scrape against the glass. Thanking my lucky stars that they're too stupid to open a door, I quickly put the lock down as I curse our misfortune for getting into this mess. Three of them have clambered onto the trunk bed in the back and have started to try and snatch Ellie up through the back window, and with a bunch more on the way, we're basically sitting ducks in this vehicle.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Jane asks, holding out her pistol and checking the rounds before locking it back up. "I've got half a dozen rounds, but not enough to take them all on at once."

"Two in mine," I admit, and cringing when Lilly states that she's only got one in her rifle. However, she doesn't seem to be nearly as nervous as the rest of us, as Lilly turns towards me and the left side of the truck. "What are you thinking here?" I question, wondering why she's leaning closer towards me.

"I'm thinking," she trails off, preparing to explain her elaborate plan, "that we tip this thing over onto its side. We can crush these bastards without firing a bullet."

Mouth agape, I gawk at her reasoning as she straddles me and prepares to rock the truck back and forth.

"Are you crazy?! What if we all get stuck in here?!" I criticize, not wanting to get trapped in a truck and feasted upon by all of these walkers looming outside. They're actually a lot more resilient than they look, and who's to say whether this'll even work at all? We might end up with the roof of the truck on the ground, for god's sakes!

"Got any better ideas? Any of you?" she questions, arching an eyebrow as one of the walkers create a crack in Jane's side of the window. When Ellie and Jane both reluctantly join on the left of the truck, I swallow the lump in my throat and join in.

Oh sweet, merciful Christ I hope this works…

With Lilly being the most physically strong out of the four of us, she tries to get it started as she leans her feet up against the head rest, places both of her hands on the window and pushes as hard as she can. I unlock the doors once again so that we won't be trapped inside if something happens to break, and Jane helps shove the door before putting her pistol back into its holster.

"C'mon, guys! Push!" Lilly grunts as we all shove our hardest against the truck. We manage to at least get the thing moving side to side a little bit, and with enough momentum on our side, this force starts to prove more and more effective. I start to get worried when I notice the walkers getting closer and closer to breaking inside, with one of them actually managing to get an arm through the glass, but after about ten or so pushes, our stomachs drop as the truck hesitates before falling onto its side; crushing some of their heads like jelly sandwiches as I try to shield my eyes.

Some of the blood and muck squirts onto my face as some of the monsters are flattened into pancakes, but I screech for help when one of them remains alive underneath the heavy piece of machinery; snapping its teeth in my direction as its arms and legs are crushed underneath our combined weight. I can feel its cold, unfeeling skin brushing against my cheek as it nearly tears my face apart with a bite.

"HELP! KILL IT!" I shriek as Ellie of all people takes out her switchblade and stabs the thing right through the forehead. Thanking her quickly, I painfully turn onto my back and see that Jane's already gotten the door open on the right… or should I say the _top_… and has stumbled out, followed closely by Lilly as Ellie extends a hand towards me. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" she remarks in fright, still looking like she's in pain from her bite from before. I still can't believe that it happened again… How could it have possibly happened so quickly?

But enough of that, it's time for us to leave and… do whatever it is we have to in order to get home safely. How we're going to pass through these bastards now that they've seen us is beyond me, but I'm sure that Jane and Lilly have some sort of plan put together.

Unless of course, they've just been winging it this entire time.

Avoiding the shattered glass windows as best as I can, I bend my knees and lift Ellie up to the open door up above. Once she's up and has been quickly dragged out by Lilly, I climb my way to the top by clutching onto the cushiony seats and break to the outside world; ducking out of instinct when Jane fires her pistol at a walker who had managed to get too close for comfort.

"Crap… we're gonna get surrounded!" Lilly mutters urgently, bashing one of the walkers with the butt end of her rifle and slamming its face with the door of the truck as we start to back up. Twenty walkers have turned into almost forty, and they're all heading towards us at an alarming rate. It seems that we've just angered the beehive, so to speak. "We need to… fuck, I don't know! Pushing through them like this is too risky!"

With danger quickly advancing towards us, and with not enough ammunition to take them all down, I see no other option other than to retrace our steps. "Back into the carnival, let's go!" I hurry them along, with Jane looking as if this isn't a great idea. I know it's not, because most of the place had been boarded off with old scrap cars and slabs of concrete after the dead came back, but there's got to be something we can use to our advantage. If not that, then we can at least try and get to some higher ground and hope for a miracle. I'm pretty much fresh out of ideas at this point.

Sprinting back inside, ignoring that stupid carousel (which, come to think of it, probably got us into this mess in the first place with the loud organ music blaring from the blasted thing), we head past a deflated bouncy castle and over towards an old sports zone; the walkers still hot on our heels as they make it past the ticket booth.

"We can't let ourselves get trapped in like this, Clem! We have to keep moving!" Lilly tells me, keeping one eye on the small herd that's on the way as she clutches onto a long stick – one of the things that carnies used in order to grab onto the prizes they were too short to reach.

Shaking my head, I snap my fingers as, sure enough, buried in a plastic box behind the bar is a bag of sporting equipment. I had fully expected it to be football padding inside, but to my surprise, it seems to be… huh? What's this jersey?

"Toronto… Maple Leafs? The hell?" I question, tossing it over my shoulder as I dig through the rest of the materials inside. Must be some sort of sports team – sounds really cheesy and stupid to me, though. I mean, how is a name like the fucking _Maple Leafs _supposed to instill fear into their opponents?

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Jane mutters, pulling off a small smirk as she looks over my shoulder.

"We've got no choice," I reply, turning towards her and handing the woman some of the hockey equipment, including some shin pads, elbow pads, a chest protector, gloves, a helmet and an old, wooden hockey stick. "Quickly, put them on and send Lilly over here. We might not have enough time to put them all on, but it's all we've got."

Handing Ellie the shin pads and claiming that she's not really going to need them, Jane nods her head and jogs back over to Lilly to explain the situation. I, meanwhile, lift some of the goalie equipment out from the bottom of the crate and try to put them on – mask, chest protector and all. This goalie stick is kind of heavy for me to use, but it'll certainly be enough to get me a break through.

"Ellie, what are you doing?! Put the stuff on, let's go!" I tell her, practically shoving the elbow pads into her hands as she shakes her head. "What do you mean, _no?_"

"Clem, there's no point – I'm faster without it, and I can't get infected! You said so yourself!" she points out, causing me to sigh in defeat as Lilly starts to put some of the equipment on herself.

"Fine," I relent, seeing that she might be right about this, "but you're at least keeping the helmet on, alright? Now let's get moving – we need to break through their lines."

Hearing Jane's frantic shouts for us to hurry along with the sound of her remaining bullets being fired into their skulls, we get set to double-time as Lilly straps herself up. Turns out there actually _was _a football helmet stuffed inside, so she manages to place that over her head and clutch onto both her carney stick as well as a golf club that she had managed to find.

Together, as a team we make our way towards Jane and hack at a walker that she's quarreling with; beating it over the head with our makeshift weapons with sheer fury. I'm pretty sure that this isn't how these sports were really meant to be played, but then again, I don't think Tiger Woods ever had to worry about beating people with his clubs… Okay, too soon.

Once we've finished clubbing the beast to death, the four of us slowly make our way towards the onslaught of walkers; melee weapons at the ready as we prepare to do the impossible.

"Let's fuck some shit up," Jane remarks as I chuckle slightly before nodding my head.

"You're god damn right," I hear Lilly concur, clutching onto her weapons like some sort of ninja. "Ooh-ra, baby. Let's see if the military's taught me anything useful."

Taking another step forward, I feel like a medieval knight as I bring the goalie stick back and slam it into the first of the first walker I come across.


	33. All for nothing

_**Emily's POV **_

"Hey, Em, sorry to bother you and all," Miles, one of the newer people stops me as I'm walking down the hall with a lot on my mind. I don't really feel like talking that much tonight, but the guy's harmless – he doesn't deserve the cold shoulder. "But Kazuki was looking for you downstairs earlier. Said it was pretty urgent."

That's odd… usually Kaz has no trouble trying to track me down and come talk to me herself. She's usually tinkering away with something downstairs in the training room and only comes out on pretty specific occasions, usually either to talk to me or Alden. For her to basically send a courier pigeon instead strikes me as a little puzzling.

"Oh?" I reply, trying not to sound disinterested as I tiredly glance over at the bespectacled man. "Lemme guess – she was acting too paranoid to tell you what the problem was in detail?"

"Bingo," Miles laughs quietly, his demeanor always striking me as more of a passive, quiet man who really just wants to get along with everybody he meets. I still have no idea how he's still alive after carrying himself like that, as bad as it may sound. "She might just need a hand with one of her "toys", but I didn't dare try and refuse her. She… well, to be frank, Kaz can be sort of… you know…"

"Yeah," I acknowledge, patting Miles on the shoulder and thanking him for the heads up. I'll be able to take it from here, even though every bone in my body right now is just screaming at me to turn back around and head to bed. Ugh… and it's just right around the corner, too…

I am seriously getting too old and tired for this shit… even though I'm only about thirty-five years old. Or is it thirty-six? Thirty-seven? Bah, whatever it is at this point, these days I feel as though I've added fifty years on top of that. Every morning is just a struggle to pull myself out of bed and do the same damn routine, day in and day out. Oh, I may act all chipper and hopeful when my friends and other people are around, but upon closer inspection, I'm probably just as cynical and bitter as Racheal is. I may see things in a different lens than her, but after Bo just… I don't know what to think anymore.

I mean, what is there to think, really? Spending a solid five minutes trying to defend Clem, Jane and Lilly, only for all of that to get shat upon moments later. How was I supposed to add anything after listening to him say those things? The whole room was electrified in an instant, and it hurt to see so many of my friends suddenly start to turn on the very people who may as well have saved our lives.

But Zayne… did Clementine really…?

"Hey," Scott suddenly waves towards me, making me jump a little as I had assumed I was alone going down the stairs. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you… I, uh, probably should've… you know, said something before…"

The kid's so awkward that it's actually kind of adorable – god, I almost want to just go up to him and pinch his cheeks like some kind of aunt or grandmother… See? Fifty years, just like I said! Fucking hell…

Standing there like an idiot for about the fifth time tonight, just stuck in my own la-la-land, I snap myself out of it and nod; preparing to continue on my way to meet Kazuki before I pass out from exhaustion. I wonder if Scott happened to bring along a pull-out mattress tucked away in his pocket somewhere? Teehee…

"Right…" I trail off, smiling sweetly at him before heading towards the stairwell.

"Umm…" he interrupts, "m-mind if I come with you? I can walk you to where you wanna go, if you'd like."

Chuckling lightly and rolling my eyes (thankfully Scott can't see my face right now), I arch an eyebrow and turn around to face him. "Scott Madsen – ever the romantic gentleman, I see!" I joke at his expense, finding it even funnier as I watch his face burn as red as a cherry tomato. "You know, there are always easier ways to get a woman to sleep with you, Scotty. Go ask Marcus sometime, I'm sure he's got some tips up his sleeve."

"Oh my god…" he groans in embarrassment, burying his face in his hands as he desperately tries to convince me of his true intentions. God, this kid's so much fun to mess with! "I… I swear, Emily, that's… that's not what I meant! Well, I _had _thought about it before, but… wait, wait, no… No! I just… it was late, and I saw you walking downstairs… It's been a pretty messed up day, that's all. I wondered if you wanted some company…"

"Relax, man. I'm just yanking your chain," I brush off, not entirely sure if I got the _cool _lingo right or not as I chuckle and nudge him in the ribs. Scott seems to relax a little bit after that, and I almost feel kinda bad about pulling this on him knowing how timid he's become over the years. Almost. "And… yeah. Sure, it'd probably be nice to have someone to chat with after today. It'd probably help to take the mind off of things…"

Nodding his head solemnly, Scott props the door open with a wooden wedge we had installed as we head down the stairwell; our footsteps echoing off the cement walls as we pass by a fellow late-night stroller on her way back from the bathroom. Said bathroom is really just a glorified garbage can which one of us has the unfortunate luxury of taking out every now and then, but indoor plumbing is something we haven't been able to recreate.

Sighing quietly, I long for some form of temporary comfort to help me forget about all of this horseshit for once. Thinking that Scott, being a young man in his prime, would be all on board with this sort of thing, I open my mouth without thinking and say the first thing that comes to my head.

"We could all definitely use a break… but what I wouldn't give for a nice, cold bottle of wine – "

"No – please, just… no booze, no alcohol," Scott cringes, shuddering as he marches on ahead with a regretful frown. "Never again… it's… it's brought us nothing but problems…"

Nearly smacking myself in the forehead for being so careless, I quickly try to mumble an apology for reminding him about Luna and all the shit that went on with her and Jake. "Err… yeah. I'm uh… let's just go see what Kaz is up to…"

Way to make friends here, Emily. Way to make some fucking friends…

* * *

_**Kelly's POV **_

Sometimes, I really want to clock some of these "patients" right in the nose. I mean, how fucking difficult is it for them to sit on the bench, hold still and not bitch the entire time? Every five seconds it's, _"Kelly, you're doing it wrong!"_ and _"My god, could you be any slower at this?"_. However, my personal favourite has to be _"Why can't you just be like James? Didn't he teach you anything at all?!"_

They make their point loud and clear with that last insult. No further explanation necessary.

But what's a medical intern to do? I'm the only one left in the entire place that actually knows how to set on a medical brace (kinda), check for physical exams, prescribe any sort of medicine that we might have available, and a whole host of other care measures which would leave the majority of these people scratching their heads in confusion. As far as I'm concerned, even an unseasoned, briefly-taught understudy like myself should be worth more than ten times the amount of weapons and ammunition that they can find out in the state. I mean, somebody's gotta be there to patch up the bullet holes after you get hit, am I right?

But lately… I haven't been feeling that same satisfaction that I had when I first signed on to practice under James' supervision. That thrill and sense of fulfillment of knowing that I'd be able to save and maintain lives by keeping people healthy just isn't there anymore. My work has become nothing short of an expectation… the novelty has worn thin, and the men and women are taking this sort of stuff for granted far too often.

The kids? Nah, I don't really have that problem, which is strange. I had thought for sure that the kids wouldn't fully understand the gravity of our situation, nor would they be able to fully grasp just how important these monthly checkups would really be to foster good health and wellbeing in our own home. But, even without the usual orange-flavoured lollipops that children used to get back when they were in stock, they seem to wrap their heads around the idea even better than their own parents. In fact, I've had to shoo some of the kids away on some occasions and tell them that they didn't in fact have smallpox or some sort of recreation of the Black Plague… I actually got a pretty good laugh out of that, but I'm starting to question just what we're really putting into some of their heads.

The last thing we need is to frighten everybody into thinking that we're all going to die some horrible death. We can't spend our days and nights hugging the walls, walking around scared of our own shadows.

Granted, if what's been said is true and that we've actually been killing our own group members around here, then maybe it _is _the right time to get worried.

Deciding to call it quits for the night, seeing as how most of the residents are either asleep or just quietly lounging in their rooms, I start to clean up the office space a little bit. I've been called a bit of a neat freak in the past, but usually that's been coming from people who couldn't keep their room tidy for even one second before turning it into a tornado of clothes and electronics. Plus, with the added urgency of keeping our medical supplies on hand and ready to go at all times, it's just that much more important to me now.

Let's see now… where did I put those aspirin packages…

Organizing the various cupboards with medicine bottles in alphabetical order had proved to be a bit of a challenge, along with a big chunk of one particularly boring afternoon, but the payoff has been worth it ever since. Looking through the prescriptions has become easier than ever, and in my opinion is much more efficient and presentable than that clusterfuck of a mess that James was running with beforehand. The guy has come back to visit a few times now, and from what Bo had told us, he should be coming within the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to being able to show off just how far I've come here, but I'm also a little bit nervous. What if it still isn't up to standard? What if he decides to stay here permanently and overthrow everything I've been trying to achieve?

My heavily clouded mind is swayed when, as I'm digging through in some of the dustier and unused cabinets, I smack my fingers into a small, metal briefcase sitting untouched in the corner. Curious as to what could be inside, I grasp my hand around the cold, silver-coloured handle and carefully set the case on the counter; discouraged to notice that the damn thing needs a padlock in order to open properly. Not wanting to shoot the damn thing and risk alarming a whole bunch of people, I snap my fingers and grin in triumph when, sure enough, a small, faded piece of paper falls onto the floor – revealing the combination as I try to turn the little nudges on the side. This thing is so old-fashioned that it's gotta belong to James. He always seemed to be into that sort of late fifties/early sixties detective vibe, so this would be right up his alley.

"Four… six… five…" I count aloud, prepared to move the last number into place as I trace my fingers delicately over the lock. "…Three."

Hearing a clicking sound, I open the briefcase gently and have a peek inside, only to be left feeling slightly confused. Inside sits an entire pack – no, even more than that – of unopened syringes and sterilized needles, along with some tiny bottle lodged firmly on the other side of them. The label on it has mainly worn off, but I can faintly make out what it was trying to say.

"C…Cyan…" I trail off, widening my eyes when I can scarcely make out the small skull and crossbones on the bottom of the label. Instantly realizing what the contents are, I lightly gasp as I notice that the seal has been broken and that the bottle was actually partially opened at some point. "Cyanide…"

Why the hell would James be keeping a bottle of poison locked away like this? What possible reason could there have been to –

"Kelly? You in here?"

Not wanting anyone at all to notice my discovery until I can get some more information and process this further, I quickly slam the briefcases shut and practically toss it back into the cupboard – cleanliness be damned. I shut the door to the cupboard closed once again before spinning around; trying to act all casual and shit as Racheal pops inside.

"You shitting bricks over here?" she jokes in her own customary way, giving a wry smile as I sheepishly shrug my shoulders. "'Cause to me it looks like you've just seen some sort of ghost. Everything cool?"

Vigorously nodding my head, I clear my throat and try to come up with something plausible that she'd be able to believe. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…" I trail off, breathing shakily for dramatic effect, "…just still trying to come to terms with this. Today's been especially hard on all of us."

Knowing that she and only a specific handful of others would be able to understand that, I examine her body language as her shoulders start to slump slightly and her head nods in a solemn agreement. I don't like to be the buzzkill or anything, but if it gets her off my ass about this cyanide capsule, then that's the chance I'm going to take.

Racheal just kind of stands there awkwardly for a little bit; eyes hoisted up high at the ceiling and looking around at anything besides me as I try to piece together why she would've come to me this evening. I mean, the two of us haven't exactly ever been best buds in the past, so unless she wants something from me specifically, then her intentions remain a mystery.

Wanting to find out for myself, I clear my throat to try and grab her attention. When that doesn't work, and she simply heads over towards some of the fake plants along with the old, busted water cooler instead, I lean against one of the countertops and try to get an answer from her.

"So… did you need some medication or something? Because I was just about to head off to bed, and I – "

"Huh?" she remarks dumbly, as if only realizing now that I've actually been in the room with her the entire time. God, she seems so out of it today. Maybe her brain got abducted by aliens when I wasn't looking.

Feeling as though she's just trying to deliberately waste my time, I frown in annoyance as I call her out on it. "Racheal, what do you want? I'm closing the office for the night, and I want to get out of here as soon as I can," I tell her, hoping that that will at least speed things up a little bit. Seeing her shake her head slightly and become more alert makes me a little less crude about it. "You're not hurt or anything, right? No severed limbs that I need to worry about or anything like that?"

Not even cracking a smirk at that, Racheal maintains her serious, nearly-robotic stare as she takes a few steps closer towards me. "No, I'd never let it get that far, anyways," she tells me, showing me her own brand of humour that really makes me more depressed than anything. "I just… it's not _that _kind of pain I'm worried about, you know? It's… more of a head trauma."

"What, did you get kicked by a horse?"

"Sometimes it feels like it while talking to you," she mumbles under her breath, causing me to sharpen my frown as she backtracks her statement. "Sorry, sorry… But no, it's… well, it's…"

"Spit it out, Rach."

"It's a mental thing, alright? I'm… I'm having some mental issues," she finally admits as I look on in surprise. Wow… Racheal actually admitting that she needs some help with something? Damn, the world really must've ended after all. "I know you're not a fucking shrink or anything, but I'm having trouble sleeping at night with this, and you're the closest thing around that could possibly help me."

Huh. Nice to know that I'm a "thing" instead of an actual living, breathing human being. Really appreciate the sentiment here.

Still though, it's clear that she needs my assistance, and that it's taken quite a bit of willpower on her end to come to me with this. The least I can do is to try and address this, even though I'm still really zapped of energy and have almost no desire to want to stay awake right now. It must be pretty sad though, feeling that she really had nowhere to go with her problems. Despite her somewhat callous and insensitive attitude, whether she knows it or not, Racheal actually still does have people around that care about her. Including me.

"I'll be perfectly honest with you here," I tell her, making Racheal sit on one of cushioned chairs in our makeshift waiting room, "out of anyone in this entire community, you were the last person I'd ever expect to come walking through my door."

"Yeah, well that makes two of us," she mutters, crossing one leg over the other as she stares at the tile floor. "Look, I'm not here for a full-on mental evaluation with you picking apart my brain or anything!"

"Then why are you here?"

Looking dazed and fed up at the same time, as if the woman's been bottling up all of her inner thoughts and emotions for far too long, Racheal's body twitches a couple of times; almost as if she can't even fully contain what's going on inside of her right now. "I need… guidance! Some kind of reassurance that I'm doing the right thing…" she confides, running her hands through her wavy, frivolled hair as I see a side of Racheal that doesn't usually peep out – vulnerability. She's clearly at her wit's end.

"Well," I huff out, rolling my eyes as I sit in the chair directly opposite of her, "what do you want me to say here, huh? Do you want the truth, or do you just want me to sugar-coat it for ya? Because right now, that's exactly what it's sounding like!"

"I was planning on leaving this fucking place behind, alright?!" she yells at me, cutting my next sentence off completely as she confirms what most of us had been thinking beforehand. "And… and I was trying to see if… maybe people could try talking me out of it…"

"Racheal… why? Why now when there's so much stuff to get done?"

Slightly rubbing her hand back and forth along the arm rest in a rhythmic fashion, she pauses before venturing forth. "I'm just so sick and tired of watching people making the same mistakes over and over and over again… always leading to the same result," she replies, making me scrunch up my face slightly in disbelief. There's more to this than she's letting on, I can tell. "I put my faith and trust into this place, these _Fireflies_. And look where it's gotten me? Nothing but grief, heartache and loads of disappointment."

Okay, it's official. I've heard this entire speech before – several times over, now that I think about it. Don't get me wrong, as it's not only Racheal here that's been talking like this in the past, as several others over the years have made similar "claims" that they'll up and leave when the moment is right. Usually, they're just empty threats to get what they want done around here, and usually the whole idea blows over within a manner of hours.

But what I don't understand is why she'd want to venture out alone like this. Surely she's gotta know that, despite its flaws, the Houston Space Centre is likely our best shot at surviving… well, pretty much anywhere. I can't think of any other real solid communities that have stood the test of time like ours has. Food and relatively clean water is one thing, but having a shelter from the outside world and being protected by people whom you can actually count on? Not many other communities could boast the same sort of protection.

"Is this about Zayne?" I question, getting my answer when she slowly shuts her eyes and lowers her head. "Racheal… you've gotta know that that wasn't your fault. There wasn't anything that we could've done for the guy – nobody could've anticipated Clementine killing him that night, even though it's still so hard to believe…"

"I'm not saying that we could've prevented it from happening," she remarks quietly. "I'm angry that it took us this long for anything to be done about it. Eight god damn years."

It's really difficult to argue with that logic, no doubt. All this time we had just assumed that it had been a freak accident; a stray walker getting the best of Zayne and causing him to turn right within our own quarters. Nobody had suspected a thing when Clementine had killed him sometime in the middle of the night, and even though we'll never know if it's true or not until we can get a full testimony and a confession, it's hard to ignore some of the proof. This evidence is really starting to add up against her, as Bo's explanation was pretty fucking convincing.

But what possible motive would she have to do something like this? At the time, it looked as though the two of them were well on their way to becoming great friends!

Unable to know for sure until we can find out more about that night, I decide to drop the conversation entirely – partly because I want to focus on keeping Racheal around, but also because of the ruckus going on up on the roof.

"Marcus must've spotted some trouble," I comment dryly, listening to the grumbling blasts of his sniper rifle as he fires off two more rounds. When it finally stops, I turn back to Racheal and give her my best attempt at getting her to stay. "You want my opinion here? To me at least, I think the best thing you can do to honour Zayne's memory is to stay and help us find out the truth. Then, help us take the appropriate action we need. You can be a real leader here, Rach… set an example for everyone here. A _proper _one," I add in, hoping that that might spark some courage and determination inside of her that might be enough to convince her on staying.

Grappling with the idea in her head as I toss out my trump card, Racheal bites down hard on her lip. I know she can see it, too – this place needs a little bit of guidance just as much as she does. And with the added pressure of not being able to look to Jane, Lilly and Clementine for support, this is all the more prudent.

What she says next however slightly disappoints me, yet even a hollow victory is better than none at all. Turning to me with a forlorn expression, Racheal sighs as she stands up to leave. "I'll stay until we can get this trial out of the way," she explains briefly, having made up her mind from the way she's telling me this. "After that, I'm leaving… but the offer to come with me is still there. For you and a handful of others."

I don't even get to voice my surprise at this abrupt invitation before Racheal is out the door; footsteps echoing down the hallway for about thirty seconds or so before disappearing once again.

* * *

_**Marcus' POV **_

Oh hot mama, do I love this new scope on the sniper rifle! A clearer lens, a more pinpoint crosshair for precision aiming… granted, it'd be nice to have some of the ones from the police academy with thermal and night vision attached to it, but the dead just had to choose to come back just as I was _about _to get into my career, so no dice on that one.

Still, with a firm grip and a sharp eye, I can't really go wrong with this gun either. These poor undead bastards don't stand a chance.

"Aim for the one by that gas station over there," Alden points out, using a pair of binoculars as he points toward a pair of stray lurkers just chilling over by their local BP fueling station… standing right near the pumps.

Turning towards him as if the boy's lost his mind, I raise an eyebrow at his giddy expression.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

"Come on! It's far away, _and _there's a massive crater still over there acting like some sort of walker moat. There's no chance they'll get over here!" Alden proclaims, seeming to forget the fact that this would be incredibly loud and dangerous. "Or at least let me have a go at that thing – I've never been able to fire a rifle before… Or at least, not like _that _bad boy."

Turning towards him in the lawn chair as we sit up on the roof, keeping watch for the evening until somebody else decides to come along and relieve us, I lightly smack him upside the head as he asks me what I did that for. "Listen bub, I ain't doing this shit just so you can watch some big-ass explosion."

"Get real! Those tanks have probably been empty for over a decade now! There's nothing left!"

Rolling my eyes and turning back to the walkers at hand, who likely won't be sitting around there for very much longer if we wait too long, I begrudgingly decide to indulge him for the time being. I don't think there'd be anyone else around, and knowing Alden, he'll probably just bitch and complain to me the entire time if I don't shoot these bastards square in the head.

Taking a breath out through my mouth, I close one eye and line the walker up with my scope; raising it a bit higher to adjust for the distance. Pulling the trigger, it takes less than two seconds for the first guy to go down; nearly giving me a panic attack as I hear the bullet ding off of a rusted car still placed out nearby.

"What'd I tell you?" Alden asks cockily, motioning with his head once again as I groan in annoyance. "Now get the other one! We can't have his buddy roaming about and looking for food…"

"You just told me that it wouldn't be a problem from this moat thing over here!"

"True… but what if somebody else stumbles across it?"

"Oh for fuck's sakes…" I grumble, wanting this conversation to be over as I quickly pop the slot of the gun open and reach down into a small box of bullet shells down near my feet. It almost took a miracle to find these things, and up until tonight I had been using them sparingly. This whole thing is supposed to last us for quite some time, and generally they advise us to only use it in emergencies.

But Lilly ain't exactly here, so I don't have the added pressure of having her watching over me like a hawk every twenty-four hours. Thank god… that woman, although I'd say she'd be a catch for someone like me, would likely end up trying to shoot me in the face if given enough time alone.

Deciding that three bullets inside the chamber would be satisfactory for right now, I snap the gun shut once again and glance over at Alden for a brief second; looking as though he's about to win the lottery or something. That shit-eating grin is really starting to edge me the wrong way, but it's more than likely just his massive sugar rush after eating three packs of Kazuki's Skittles earlier tonight. She's gonna be pissed when she finds out about it…

"After this, you stop hasslin' me. Got it?" I remark, blankly staring over at the kid as he pounds a fist against his chest twice and tries to act all cool – doing the exact opposite in his sugar-high state of mind.

"Word up, my brother from another mother," he tells me, giving me two rock n' roll symbols with his hands as I stare at him with disbelief.

Did he seriously just…?

"You have to be the whitest kid I know, Alden. No joke."

"Naw man, I'm straight, dog! I just wanna see you blast away these mofo's!"

Nearly deciding to take him by the collar and toss his bony ass down the stairwell, I instead ignore the slightly racist remarks and line up the second shot. Pulling the trigger once again hits the target, but a much different result occurs as the bullet pierces right through its brain and lands directly into the fueling station behind it. It's difficult to see in the dark, and the fact that we're so far away, but even at this distance I can tell that something started squirting out of that contraption after the bullet pierced into its metal hide.

"Oh shit…" I whisper, watching as some of the excess gasoline on the ground starts to ignite; lighting the walker's body in flame as Alden gazes on in wonder. "Dude, this shit ain't good! Why are you smiling, man? This is serious! We might have a real problem on our hands!"

"Well, we can't exactly call the fire department now, can we?" he grins over at me, nudging me on the shoulder as he chuckles. "Lighten up, Marcus! You're always grilling me about how I'm supposed to take life less seriously and enjoy it!"

"Yeah, but I know how far to take things and where to draw the line!" I excuse myself, snatching his binoculars for a moment and taking another look. "Damn, that guy's cooking down there… What's gonna happen if it – "

Interrupted by an annoyed yet slightly amused grunt, the two of us turn around to find Katie standing right behind us; an annoyed expression on her face as I face forward once again. Feeling her hot breath on my neck as she plants her hands on my shoulders, I can practically feel my face burning up as she prepares to lecture us.

"So this is what you call _guard duty_, huh?" she mocks, patting my lightly on the cheek as she stands back up and wanders in between Alden and I; watching the impending spectacle for herself. "You two knuckleheads are waking up the whole fucking building. Mind telling me what the bromance up here is for? Or is this just another one of those _brotherly bonding _moments that you guys are having?"

"For your information," Alden indicates smugly, "Marcus and I were actually _walker-hunting_… Well, he was, anyways. I was supervising."

Oh this guy's just a barrel of laughs over here, ain't he?

"Supervising? I don't think I'd quite describe it like that, Ald. More like _pestering_."

Grinning peacefully, seeing as how none of this bickering is really made in malicious taste, Alden keeps to himself as Katie pulls up the spare lawn chair that we have sitting on the ground behind us. We don't normally use it anymore since there's a hole in the seat portion, and somebody had dented the metal frame of the chair a while back. Something about the kids messing around with bb guns and shooting the damn thing, I don't know. Just a little harmless fun really, but unfortunately Katie's going to have to keep herself from wobbling back and forth in that thing.

"Hell of a day, huh?" she states, bringing our minds back to earlier this afternoon when all of that crybaby bullshit was getting spewed around like wildfire. I hadn't really paid it much thought, to be honest. "Too much is happening too quickly. I couldn't sleep a wink tonight knowing that there was a killer on the loose…"

"Katie…"

"What? You know it's true," she points out to Alden, who once again is trying to play the role of peacekeeper even though it's gotten him into trouble on many an occasion. Katie will probably go on a tangent about how he needs to pick a side for a change, which she does as I try to tune out some of their conversation for a while, but you know what I say?

Sometimes it's better to just not get involved in it at all. All of this finger pointing and blame… who gives a fuck? The kid's been dead for eight years! My granny got her face chewed off by one of those creepy-crawlies on the day that this all started, and you don't see me crying about it!

As some of the flames over yonder start to turn a cool blue, I hear Katie trying to call for my support. How can she not know by now that I won't give it out?

"I'm a mercenary, Katie. My loyalty goes to the highest bidder," I remind them, slapping them right in the face with the truth as I shrug my shoulders. "Can't really be any clearer than that, guys. So Clementine killed somebody… so what? Don't tell me that neither of you haven't done the exact same thing."

"…there's a difference here," Katie shakes her head, with Alden actually seeming like he concurs a little bit with that statement. "I haven't killed one of my own friends before – not for anything. Who's to say that it won't be one of us next? Turn around at the wrong moment and she might pop you right in the back of the head!"

"Y-you don't really think she'd do that, right?" Alden asks pensively, clearly not wanting to believe it as I keep staying out of the conversation. They don't see things the same way as I do, mainly because they're probably a lot more tight-knit with the rest of these chums than I can ever be. Like I always say – keep one hand on your gun, and one foot out the door. You never know when you might need to dash out.

And if they're seriously thinking of doing what I think they're doing tomorrow when (or if) they come back, then I might just need to be ready to jet. It just isn't profitable to stick around when your boss is in chains.

"Who knows? But I wouldn't want to risk it," Katie continues, always (at least to me) seeming to have an ulterior motive at play whenever these kinds of big events occur. She's an opportunist, this one. All along, we all knew that she wanted to have a crack at Luna's helicopter whenever the moment presented itself, and she's been in charge of operating it ever since. And I've spotted her and Racheal on occasion talking to each other all hush-hush over on the side when nobody else thought they were looking, and have heard snippets of their conversations.

"_We've gotta take 'em out_" has been tossed around a few times, including talks of rearranging the security measures and always having the vehicles stocked up and ready to go just in case. She's also talked about how they should just raid some of the surrounding towns and communities for supplies and whatnot, but I'm pretty sure that that was just some off-handed joke she was trying to convey. The point being, I'm pretty sure that Katie's been feeding some of these ideas into Racheal's brain for quite some time, with nobody really being the wiser.

"Well, none of it's really gonna matter after tomorrow morning. We'll be back in control soon enough," she says with a sigh, causing me to look over in curiosity. "What, you guys don't know?" she asks, looking puzzled as to why neither of us have been informed of this apparently top-secret phenomenon. "Geez, guys! It's all anyone around here's been talking about all day long! Word got out about the whole Zayne thing, and everyone's _pissed_. They all want Clem out of the picture, and that's exactly what's gonna happen tomorrow."

Alden, concerned with what this could mean, shudders as he lowers his gaze to the ground. "You don't mean…"

"Pretty soon, we're gonna be in charge of this place – not just a select few," Katie comments as I notice some type of vehicle heading towards the space centre. What's more worrisome is how close the person is to the flaming gas station, which could potentially blast at any moment. "Maybe it's time we should start getting our arrangements in order. This place'll be a mad house for the first little – "

"Hold up – who the heck is coming towards us?" I ponder, looking through the scope of my sniper rifle as Alden once again picks up the binoculars. "Can you get a read on 'em? I can only see one guy in the car…"

The vehicle is little more than a station wagon by the looks of things, but the figure driving it is nothing more than a shadow from way up here. I can't make heads or tails of any physical characteristics, which is really concerning since we're not going to have a clue who it really is. Driving around the crater in the middle of the parking lot with almost no hesitation, the driver disappears around the back and heads toward the garage; leading me to think that it's somebody who knows their way around.

Firing off a warning shot as the man skids to a halt, I yell at him in an attempt to dissuade any potential threats. "That's close enough!" I holler, hearing Alden and Katie each pull out a pistol to back me up in case things go sideways. "Good – now open the door, _slowly! _No sudden moves, or I'll be forced to pop your ass! Hands in the air!"

Doing as I've instructed, the man steps out of the car after turning off the ignition, but I'm confused as he starts laughing out of all things. Adjusting the scope a little bit to get a better read on him, I widen my eyes and start chuckling myself. "God damn it, man… I thought you weren't supposed to be here for a couple of days!"

"So much for the warm welcome, guys!" James yells up at us with a charismatic attitude. "Now or you gonna let me in or what? Bo should be rolling out the welcome mat by now!"

"I'll take care of it," Katie mentions, getting an appreciative nod from me as I lower the weapon to my side. Alden seems happy that the doctor's back for now, but I'm starting to wonder just how long he and Bo are going to stick around here for. They were at St. Mary's for a long, long time.

I'm about to crack a joke about how his fashion sense still reminds me of a B-movie Dr. Frankenstein, but I'm cut off as the inevitable happens behind us.

A massive fireball erupts from the gas station as Alden and I spin around; fear etched into our heads as more than half a dozen walkers are thrown into a fiery grave. The fueling pumps are riddled with flame as they whip around ferociously, and the two of us can hear the metal groan and buckle before the entire roof of the gas station comes tumbling down. You can smell the ash and smoke from way over here as dozens of people are awoken by the resulting blast.

The building will continue to burn into the early morning, and even well after that.

"…so much for the warm welcome, indeed…" Alden cracks dryly, leading me to vow never to follow his instructions ever again. Smacking him in the back of the head once again, the guy doesn't object in the slightest.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

We've been walking for ages now, it's felt like. Nothing but long stretches of open road, with little to no protection from the sun as it's beaten down onto our skin. My neck is drenched in sweat, and it only stings even worse as I can feel the sun burn agitate my body with no remorse. The sports equipment may have been enough to save us from the walkers, but the natural elements? Nope, somehow, nature finds a way to fuck with you. Funny how that works out.

I still can't believe that we had gotten through them, though. We must've been outnumbered nearly ten to one, and yet we didn't even need to fire a single bullet after we had gotten all decked out in protective equipment. We were absolutely exhausted after the whole affair, naturally, but while it was all going down, I felt like I could do it all day long. Nothing was going to slow me down, and my three companions looked as though they were feeling the same way.

Once the adrenaline had worn off though, we were straight-up bagged beyond belief. The hockey sticks and golf clubs had been worn to bits, reduced to nothing but thin pieces of wood and iron with guts and blood strewn all over them.

Jane was mentioning to Lilly earlier how these would actually make do for pretty decent weapons in a pinch, especially against bandits and such with the walker guts still attached. One cut at the leg or the arm, and they'd be down within a few hours at least.

It seemed a little gruesome to me at first, but it'd make sense. When all else fails, you have to rely on whatever it is you can find. We learned that today.

With the sun rising high in the east, sparkling the land in light as I squint my eyes, the four of us inch closer and closer to our destination. Hopefully this will have given them all enough time to blow things over and try to ease their anger, but I'm still going to try and avoid certain people in order to give them their space. First thing that I'm going to do when I get there, however, is try to go over our defenses and look for any areas where we might need some improvement. Maybe that'll be enough to satisfy some of the nay-sayers around here about whether or not we can continue to maintain a sustainable community.

"You've gotta keep up there, Ellie," I turn around, noticing how much trudging she's been doing over the past hour or so. "Just hang in there, kiddo. We should be coming close to the space centre within a matter of minutes, right Jane?"

Hearing no response whatsoever, not even an acknowledgement that she even heard me, I face forward once again and stare at the back of her head. Jane's got her hands buried deep in her pockets, and judging by the sour look pulling at the corners of her lips, I've got no doubt that she's clenching her fists, too.

"…Jane? Did you hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Well then?"

Pausing once again, Jane continues to walk forward and follow Lilly, who's traipsing up ahead and taking the lead as she too keeps to herself. _Sigh… _I should've figured that I'd be getting the silent treatment on the way back home, but I didn't think that it would actually hurt as much as it does. If Jane and Lilly won't talk to me, then who the hell will?

"Jane," I bug her again, "would you just… talk? Please? This isn't getting us anywhere – blocking each other out. If this is about… that thing… then… I'm sorry, alright?"

"…I don't think I'm ready for talking right now, Clementine," she states bitterly and coldly. Full names now, huh? Guess she means business.

With two of my best friends stone-walling me for reasons that I definitely understand, I simply choose to accept it and give them some time to themselves. Lilly and Jane already seemed to be a little on edge with each other _before _I had admitted Ellie's condition, so maybe it'd be best if I didn't try to fan the flames right now. Better to give them some room to breathe.

Hearing Ellie jog up beside me, I nod at her with a small smile before turning it back into a frown as we approach our destination. The space centre still stands, proud and tall for the whole world to see. There's a lone figure up on the roof, so at least we've got somebody on watch… but the crowd gathering near the back entrance is a little bit confusing for me.

"This can't be good…" I mutter so that only Ellie can hear, watching as Lilly tries to ask what's going on, but is simply shoved inside without any explanation as Jane tries to protest.

Racheal looks like she wants to tear my face off, as do a number of other people, but I don't really see why. Is this about what happened yesterday?

"Umm… what's going on, guys?" I ask as Ellie clutches onto the back of my jacket instinctually. So many angry and disappointed faces are pinned on me, but I really don't understand why. They all knew what Willis would become, didn't they? "What's with the hold-up, here? Is there something on my face that you guys aren't telling me? 'Cause I haven't eaten anything messy today, I can promise you that!"

No laughs. No chuckles of any kind. No grins across anyone's faces, and not even a ghost of a smirk. Emily and Alden look almost devastated, and Kelly looks pretty distraught herself as she is forced to stand in my way, along with Kazuki of all people.

Glancing at each of their faces individually, I don't like what I see. Whispering for Ellie to head back down the stairs, I turn around only to get blocked by yet another circle of people as they start to close in on us. "…what the fuck are you guys doing right now?" I lowly remark, finding the whole situation to be escalating much quicker than normal as Ellie is snatched from my grasp. "Hey, HEY! Don't you touch her, understand?! I don't know what the hell you guys are doing, but the joke's over! Now let me through!"

"Clementine Marsh," Katie states as she crosses her arms, watching as I'm forced to put my hands behind my back, "you are under arrest for the murder of Zayne, and for the criminal negligence of safeguarding this community; costing dozens of lives in the process. You have the right to remain silent, and – "

"The hell are you talking about?!" I interrupt loudly, feeling a pair of strong arms (one human, one metallic) come up behind me and zip-tie my hands behind my back. "…it was you…" I accuse darkly, glaring a hole into Bo's face as he glares right back at me. "You son of a bitch! You came back just to lie to everyone about me! You've wanted me gone this whole time!"

"You told me so yourself," he points out, motioning with his head over to Lilly, who's having to be held back by four people at once. "She remembers – I saw her listening in on our conversation that night. You confessed it in front of the both of us."

Shaking violently in an attempt to break free, and fearing for my life as well as their own personal safety, my face goes red in anger as I'm practically dragged back inside. "Gah! Let me GO! THIS IS A FARCE! I HAVEN'T DONE A DAMN THING!"

With nobody really coming to my aid (not that they'd really be able to, given the cicumstances), I am thrust forward into the space centre as I see James of all people holding the door open to our interrogation room; dark and dank from years of abandonment.

"James… you've gotta believe me…" I beg, deep down knowing how screwed I might be if this falls through. "Please… they… they're gonna kill me… and take my family away…"

For one second – one brief, dangerously hopeful second – I see his gaze grow soft. For one fucking moment, I see James almost wanting to take me under hi wing and spring me to safety. I'm so close to having him on my side, and yet the moment passes almost as soon as it appears.

"I.. I can't, Clem… I'm sorry," he tells me, opening the door more fully as I'm shoved inside; hearing the door lock behind me as my knees scrape against the floor.

Fear rocks my very core as I stand up and view my surroundings, immediately trying to search for an exit or some kind of loose brick that I can push out to escape from. But this building has been renovated and fortified so many times, especially around the back part here, that freedom seems nearly impossible.

Circumventing the perimeter regardless, as I have no intention of being cooped up in here like a caged bird, I pat down on some of the cement walls and try digging my fingers in some of the cracks to see if any of them will budge. Nothing – not even a smidge of difference.

I'm officially trapped inside of my own home.

"_Wh-what?! Holy… holy shit!" _I hear amongst the rumblings of the dispersing crowd outside. My stomach twists into knots as I tiredly turn my gaze towards the door. _"It's… it's Ellie! She's… she's bitten! She's got bites all over her, come look!"_

"_Oh my god, it's true! Look at them, they're everywhere!"_

"_Why hasn't she turned yet? They don't look fresh to me!"_

"_Has she been cutting herself?"_

"_Jesus, Katie! Show a little compassion, would ya?!"_

"_ENOUGH!" _booms a loud voice, cutting through the rest as I recognize it as being Bo's amongst them. _"Here, just… let James take a look. He'll know what to do."_

"NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! PLEASE DON'T! NOOOOO!" I belt to the heavens, banging on the door with such fury that my knuckles start to bleed as the splinters enter my skin. "Oh god, please, no… Don't… don't do this… not to her…"

"…_we need to get her to the lab immediately," _James ushers, telling everyone else to go about their business and to leave them in peace. _"Bo, we're going to need to run some tests here. Quickly – this might be just the break we've been looking for!"_

"No, please…" I sob, sliding down the wooden construct as my tears cascade like warm rivers down my cheeks. This can't be over… I didn't spend all that time hiding this secret only for it to just blow up in my face like this… "Please…" I beg, but to no avail. "Please don't do this… Oh my god, no… Ellie… I'm so sorry…"


	34. Keys

_**Ellie's POV **_

"Could it really be? I mean… for real?"

"We'll have to wait and see for ourselves, but… Christ, Bo, I can't even begin to describe…" the doctor exhales, rubbing his hands through his hair (you know, if he actually _had _any) before smiling jubilantly over at me. James looks as thrilled as a kid on Christmas.

And it sickens me. It makes me want to projectile vomit all over his pretty, white lab coat.

Crossly frowning and trying to avoid eye contact, lest they try to toss my ass in solitary confinement next, I resist the urge to shake off Bo's mechanical hand as he places it gently upon my shoulder. It's cold and lifeless, which is so unlike the man it belongs to. Bo's always been a gentle soul, but what's always been surprising is how he can channel all of that energy into getting shit done and being pretty intimidating all the same. Lately, all I can see is the robotic side of the man – I should start calling him the "Tin Man" from now on.

I can't leave the lab. That's pretty much an unspoken rule placed on me now, even though nobody's specifically told me what it is I'm supposed to be doing here. But I can put the pieces together here… I'm not stupid. They want to find out more about me; suddenly _so interested _in learning about me when it`s fucking convenient for them.

Am I jealous? No, not by a long shot. _Annoyed _is probably the better word for this bullshit. Annoyed and frightened. I've officially just become the lab rat for Bo, James and whoever else wants to poke around me and check to see what makes me tick.

However, that's not my biggest worry. I can handle these bozos shooting needles into my arms and using whatever means they have at their disposal. I'm tough, I'll live. Endure and survive, remember?

But is that really gonna be the same case for Clementine?

"I figured you wouldn't want to be hounded by everyone outside, so it's just James and I here, alright?" Bo explains, as if that's supposed to make me feel better somehow. Really though, it just makes me want to kick him right in the balls. "Just relax – we're not going to do anything too strenuous… err, nothing too _stressful_," he corrects himself when I have no idea what he's talking about. Taking his hand off of me, he follows James over to a different area of the space station that I never was allowed in beforehand. It's just a little ways past the big rocket that I used to be able to play in as a child when Riley was still around. Nowadays though? I hardly even spare the hunk of metal a passing glance. Wouldn't feel right to dick around inside of the thing without my best friend to back me up.

Some nights can really get to me about that; about Riley, and why she had to leave us like that. Why didn't Clem just tell me about how it really happened the first time around? Wouldn't that have made things so much easier? Didn't I of all people have the right to know what actually happened that day? First my mom, then my best friend… what else could she be holding out on me?

It really makes me wonder, and I can't shake the feeling that my _trusted friend _might not be so trustworthy after all. With all the shit she's done, it's not difficult to see why.

Doesn't mean that I'm not gonna try to bust her out of this joint, though.

"Never thought that I'd have to use this thing again," James comments as he blows some of the dust off of some big, old machine – clearly made back before the dead were walking around. Calmly ushering me to have a step inside as he slides back the metal casing, I pensively turn back towards Bo for some form of reassurance, but the most I can get out of him is a simple nod.

I'm not really sure what exactly I was expecting when I had first walked in here, but I can tell you that it definitely wasn't this shit. I was fucking terrified; trembling in my own skin when I heard the rowdy crowd of people behind me demanding that I basically be placed on a noose and hung from the rafters so that they could all suck the blood out of my veins. Somehow, these morons seemed to think that sucking my blood through a fucking straw would manage to save their sorry asses. I'd probably laugh if they ended up just jabbing themselves in the wrists, the idiots…

Stepping up to the machine, I swing my legs over to the side as I climb up; laying flat on my back as I stiffly place my arms at my side. My head is surrounded by a huge circular device that basically looks like a jumbo, mechanical donut, and I jump a little bit as James flicks a switch and it whirs to life.

"We're just gonna take a blood sample, and then I'll give you a sedative," he explains, thanking Bo as he hands the doctor (or scientist, I can never remember) a sterilized needle. Flicking it a few times with his fingers, I gulp as James heads over to me and frowns apologetically. "This might sting a little bit – just try to think of something else," he tells me as I wince; feeling the sharp object dig into the top of my hand as he pulls the top of the syringe. I feel queasy as I watch my blood work its way to the top of the prickly little thing, but almost as soon as it does, he finishes collecting the crimson liquid and carefully places the sample on a desk nearby. "Bo, would you…?" he cuts himself off, seeing that the bald-headed cancer patient is already at my side with yet another needle at the ready.

"Ow!" I complain, feeling the force of the second one much more strongly than the first for some reason as Bo takes it out of the side of my neck. "What the fuck, Bo?! What the hell… are you doing to me…?"

"Must not have as steady of a hand as I thought… sorry about that," he apologizes, though quickly retaining his previous stare as he too places the needle back onto the side table. "That's gonna put you to sleep – make it count, 'cause I'm pretty sure that's one of the only agents James has around this place. Meds are pretty hard to come by," Bo tells me, with the effects already slowly starting to be felt as I lean my head back slightly. Seeing this reaction, Bo instinctively raises the back of my head with his prosthetic limb and uses his other arm to adjust a small pillow underneath my head. "Sleep tight, Ellie. We'll talk again after all of this is over," he mentions, turning back towards his bespectacled friend as my eyelids start to flutter like butterflies.

There's some more chatter going on between them, I'm sure of it, but I can't really make out what the dialogue is all about. Not to sound self-centred or anything, but I've got a feeling that it's got something to do with me… and whatever they're trying to do. Is this some sort of medical bay that they never told me about? I must've passed by this thing a billion times beforehand without even giving it any thought, yet here I am – lying down and putting my fate in its hands. It's kind of scary to think about actually, let alone to be caught in the middle of the rotating donuts surrounding my head.

I hope Clementine's okay though, even though she pretty much lied straight to my face. The way she was dragged off like that, I wouldn't be surprised if they had hurt her somehow. But they wouldn't kill her, right? She's too important for that – after all, wasn't she one of the people who helped kick-start this place to begin with?

Yeah… that's right. They wouldn't even dare to try and hurt Clementine. They've got to have at least _some _self-control.

Besides, I'm pretty sure Lilly and Jane would rip their balls off and string them on the rocket if they even touched a hair on her head.

Suddenly finding myself unable to think clearly any longer, and realizing that the drugs Bo just put into me must be kicking into overdrive, I take one last big breath before rolling my head back and shutting my eyes. You know, this machine is actually kind of peaceful now that I'm….

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

"_It's not you we have the problem with!" _Emily implores from the other side of the door, trying to get me to come out of the dining room. Keeping my shoulder onto the door as to not let her or any of those other traitorous fucks out there come inside to collect us, I watch as Jane drags yet another steel chair across the floor and sets it up against one of the other entrances. _"Come on, guys! We didn't want this either! Just come out of there so we can all just… just sit and talk!"_

"Yeah, I don't think so," I mumble under my breath, thanking Jane as she lines the chair up against the door that I'm holding closed. My arm was getting tired.

"Well," she remarks, wiping her hands together to get the wood shavings off of her palms, "looks like she's had it. All that's left to do is…" Jane cuts herself off, turning her head towards the back as I nod and give them all the middle finger, even though none of them can see me doing it. A big "fuck you" isn't enough – I'd need about a thousand more in order to even _try _and get the message across.

Knowing that almost nobody around is going to be sympathetic to us or Clementine, and realizing that we've just become two hunks of meat in an ocean of hungry sharks, it hurts to see that we're officially on our own now, for the most part.

But fuck me if I didn't admit that the girl we had both come to know didn't deserve at least a little bit of this. Clem's been a busy little bee over the years, apparently.

A part of me is still pissed about her keeping a massive secret like that under wraps. And it doesn't help that she also killed Zayne that night - yes, unfortunately that I can actually believe. But… it's Clementine! I had promised her way back at Houston Hills that I wouldn't leave her again, no matter what might've come barreling our way. I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I was just to turn tail and run away now, wouldn't I?

Thankful that the guards had only taken the weapons that they could see, I pull a pistol out of my jacket pocket and slide the magazine out; grunting as I realize that there are only three bullets left inside. "So much for doing this the easy way…" I murmur, seeing that Jane doesn't even have a gun at all. "Are you just gonna try and knife every person you see? I don't think that's gonna help too much."

"Got a better plan then? I'd rather do this quietly than anything else."

I had originally considered just setting the entire complex ablaze right before we had shut ourselves in here, grabbing the kids and high-tailing it out to somewhere safe, but the more that I think about it, the worse that idea seems. This place is far too big for that to work smoothly, and as pissed as I am at these guys, I don't really have a death wish on any of them. Weird, I know, but it's true. And the death toll would be massive in a blaze like that, believe me.

Placing the gun in the back of my jeans and covering it up with my leather jacket, I frown in thought as Jane arches an eyebrow. "What is it?" she questions, still acting uneasy around me after my confession back at the carnival.

"This might take some time and planning," I admit, realizing that this isn't gonna be easy, "but we might just be able to spring her out of this joint… with minimal casualties. All she's gonna have to do is play along…"

Looking even more confused than before, Jane sheaths her weapon again as I lead her out the back; ignoring a nasty look from Racheal and Katie as I whisper my plan into her ear.

Jane's concerned frown only grows deeper as I relay the idea into her brain.

* * *

_**Kazuki's POV **_

Taking the shovel in both of my hands – one grasping the handle while the other grasps the base – I shove it as hard as I can into the soft dirt below. Dig, dig, dig. This is literally all I've been doing for the entire afternoon. The sun's been beating down on my shoulders, the flies have been attacking my face, and sweat's been dripping into my eyes. I wasn't built for this particular kind of manual labour, and Marcus, Alden and Scott all know it.

But I don't complain. After all, I don't really have the energy to even if I wanted to say something. My fingers ache, my legs are bruised, and my feet are starting to swell in my shoes, all to dig a few graves for some of the people whose families they've left behind.

You wanna know the weird part, though? I don't feel much. I knew several of the victims – Paul, Joey, Garcia, Martine… every one of them killed by the bandits who had gotten into the space centre.

I don't grieve for the dead, not anymore. What's the point of crying over people who won't hear you anyway? They don't care… they can't. So why should I? Especially when a dear friend of mine is getting caged up like an animal inside?

"Fuck, man… that fucking smell…" Alden breaks the ever-growing silence, raising the collar of his shirt up to his nose as he turns back to the rotting pile of corpses behind us. They've been getting baked by the sun out her over the past couple of days, same as us.

Marcus, only taking a look up from his work for a brief second before keeping his head down, says to him, "Ain't nothing you haven't smelled before, big guy. Did you want me to go get your mommy so she can make it all better? Or would you rather just get this done so we can all go back inside?"

"I think I'd _rather _stay out here…" Scott replies in earnest, wiping his forehead with his shirt sleeve as I nod my head. Hard to argue with him on that one. "Things are way too tense inside right now. I mean, did you see the look that Lilly was giving everyone? It was almost enough to freeze hell right over…"

"Clem's wasn't much better. I could hear her howling in there earlier – _howling_. Not even for her own life, though," Alden adds, making my skin crawl as I try to tune out what they're saying. "They had to threaten to fill her room with gasoline just so that she would calm down a little. Scary shit, huh?"

Keeping to myself, I dig the future grave down deep and toss the dirt over my shoulder, almost hitting Marcus in the face with the shovel as I focus on nothing but my task.

"Uh… Kaz?"

"I don't want to talk right now," I cut Scott off before he can really get a word in. Throwing the dirt around like a madwoman, I feel my muscles clench tightly as my shoulders work double-time. Marcus sputters as some of the dirt gets into his mouth, and I put Alden onto his ass as he gets a face-full of the metal shovel.

"Jesus, Kazuki! Can you give me a warning next time?" he whines, shutting up when I give him a dirty look – no apologies whatsoever. "Alright, alright! Just…" he sighs, rubbing his face painfully as I stick the shovel back in the dirt, "we need to look out for one another, that's all. You saw how fast those guys turned on them; how quickly they blamed Clem for everything that's wrong with this place. How long do you think we'll have before somebody starts pointing fingers at us for something?"

Always wanting to make the situation lighter, Marcus chuckles and pats Alden on the shoulder; whistling for Scott to help him move one of the covered bodies into the first hole. "There ain't one thing wrong with us, though – we're fucking angels! Halos all around!" he announces, flapping his hands behind his back to signify a pair of wings as even I can't suppress a tiny smirk from forming upon my lips. Nothing ever seems to put the guy down in the dumps, no matter what might be going on around him. I wish that I could say the same.

As a team, the duo pick up the first corpse – Martine, I believe – and start to carry her gently over to my hole. Seeing's how I'm the first one to finish digging, I accept a hand from Alden and pull myself out as I spot Kelly slowly trudging towards us. Boy, has she seen better days.

"You should wait for the friends and family before you bury them," she chastises lightly, although seeming to enjoy our company over that of inside the building. I guess she just needed some space to get away from it all, too. I had jumped at the chance to get outside, even though I wasn't aware of how physically taxing this was all going to be. "It's just the right thing to do."

Carefully lowering the legs into the pit as Scott tries to do the same with the upper body, Marcus nods his head out of respect and lifts the younger man back to the surface. Wiping his hands on his jeans in order to try and get the stench and grime away, he joins the rest of us in staring at Martine's unmoving corpse. "For sure," he agrees, turning towards Kelly as Alden and I both roll our eyes. "You alright there, Kelly? It looked like you took it pretty hard," he comforts, constantly trying to be a ladies man and get with the first girl who'll actually say _yes_. He's got some stones for trying, I'll give him that much, but the guy's pretty oblivious. The poor guy just seems to think that his charming personality will win everyone over.

It even worked on me for a while, though I doubt that that was the intention…

Shrugging, Kelly (probably without even realizing it) allows him to wrap an arm around her shoulders as a light breeze rolls in from the sky. This is one of the few places around with a whole bunch of natural greenspace, making it the perfect location to have this sort of funeral procession.

"Is anyone really?" she fires back, raising a valid point as I lower my gaze to the ground. "I tried to get back into the office so that I could work and take my mind off of it, but James locked the door and I haven't seen him all day. Emily's trying to talk some sense into Lilly and Jane, and I don't know what the hell's going on with Racheal and Katie…"

"Probably trying to convince everyone to leave again…" Scott bitterly adds in, getting a surprised look from Kelly as she widens her eyes.

"You too, huh?"

"Yep. Took me a whole afternoon to try and avoid them about it. Katie's pretty persistent when she wants to be."

"Where would we even go, though?" I ask, not having had any of this mentioned to me before. By the puzzled look on Marcus and Alden's faces, I'm guessing that they're in the same boat. "We've all been living here for years – it's all I know anymore. And I sure as hell am not going back to Tracy's camp! That mall was creepy as hell, and it smelled like rat piss!"

With all eyes turning towards Kelly once again, she finds it high time to speak up as she clears her throat and laying it on us. "Some fucking fantasy land that she saw on Jake's old map," she sighs, knowing that that's still a touchy subject for Scott to suggest. "Racheal was trying to sell me on it beforehand – _It'll be better there, _she said! _Nothing good can come from sticking around this craphole, _she said!"

"What was she saying about it, though?" I interrupt, wanting her to get to the point already.

Knowing that she went off track for a second, Kelly corrects herself and nods her head. "Right… well, she wasn't being too specific with the details. All she told me was that it was some safe haven out in Virginia – apparently somewhere that has it even better than over here," she tells us, still not making a whole lot of sense to me. "I think she said it was… Alexandria, or something? Yeah, that's what it was."

* * *

_**Bo's POV **_

I can't contain my excitement right now. Every ten seconds or so, whenever I stare off at the sleeping child just a few feet away from us, I can't help but either laugh, smile or silently cry. Usually, it's all of the above at the same time.

All those years, I had thought James was crazy. I only went along with it because the two of us had become rather close friends in our short time together, and I didn't want to spit on all that he and his team had been working on when they had all accepted me as one of their own. Occasionally I would joke about his "Mission for Glorious Nation of Houston", as Borat likely would've put it; mocking his vain attempts to find a reliable cure that could save all mankind.

But this right here – this has started to make me a believer. I know that James can be up to the task, having witnessed his medical and scientific expertise for myself many times over at St. Mary's hospital. I don't think I'd be there if he hadn't believed in me; in the cause. I'm still able to breathe (albeit painfully at times) because of this man. If anyone can take full advantage of this gift, it's James.

This has been a nice distraction for the good doctor, too. Putting all of his attention on this has pulled him away from the total clusterfuck that's going on everywhere else in this place. What a mess… that couldn't have gone any worse than it did. Little did I know how divided this would make us all – how it would distance us all as far as possible. The buzz is on in force, and it's all anyone can talk about. I've heard it all now, too: Ellie's bites, Clem's imprisonment, Alexandria – of whom we've actually made contact with – along with a few still mourning over the people we lost.

Without a captain to guide this ship, we're all going to sink. I know this, and was trying to prepare myself for when it finally started to happen. But things have become much more complicated than that now – maybe we won't even _need _a captain now. Maybe we can get things back to the way they used to be even more quickly than I had imagined.

Well, "normal" being a relative term, anyways. We've still got a long ways to go before that comes to pass.

Patting my real hand on James' shoulder, I hear him sigh in content as he looks at the initial readings in complete wonder. "Isn't it incredible?" he marvels as I try to make heads or tails of what those numbers and words mean. "Her numbers are off the charts. It's… it's like nothing I've ever seen before! Her white blood cells are actually multiplying and overtaking the bacteria coming from the bite!"

"You got all of that from a computer screen?" I wonder, finding it pretty impressive when he shakes his head and leads me over to a microscope that he's set up over on a nearby table. Ellie's blood sample has been spread out evenly on a small petri dish, and I close one eye as I try to examine it closely for myself.

Whoa… that's pretty kick-ass! It's not as heavy duty of a microscope as James would like, I'm sure, but you can still see some of the results. Clumps of red and black are colliding into one another like bumper cars, but as far as I can tell, the red is definitely overtaking the black in some of the places. There are even some sections where the black and red are simply joining together into cool, little balls of blood.

"I'll need the full MRI scan of her brain in order to be proof-positive, but damn, Bo… this could be it! We might be able to save _everyone!_" he exclaims as I step away from the microscope with a frown that goes unnoticed by him. "Project Rebirth could be back online!"

"Everyone who's left, that is…"

Pausing at my deflating tone, James pushes up the brim of his glasses as he turns back towards the computer screen; waiting for the little icon to turn green so that we'll know the MRI has completed. "…the important thing is the continuation of our species," he mentions, with me sensing a dark undertone to the conversation as I walk back over to him. "That's what we have to focus on – that's the primary objective, remember?"

Knowing that it's never this simple with him, I turn his chair around so that he's facing me directly. "What aren't you telling me here?" I ponder, knowing that he hasn't let me in on everything.

Blinking a couple of times, the doctor/scientist stiffens in his seat as I see the faintest bit of sadness cross his eyes. "We can't let our own personal feelings get in the way," he mentions, not even needing to say the words as I start to get what he's going on about. "Why do you think they never let doctors work on their own friends and family members?"

"But isn't there another way? There has to be!" I stutter, not wanting it to come to this as I prance back and forth. "I mean… fuck, man… does she really have to die?"

With his face betraying him, and clearly harboring his own secret hesitations about the process himself, James gulps before nodding slightly. "Yes," he answers in affirmation. "In order for the procedure to work, and for a cure to be widely distributed, I'm going to need quite a few strands of brain tissue. Most of the frontal lobe will have to be… dissected," he admits while adjusting his lab coat. "If she truly is immune, then there's no way that Ellie will survive the procedure."

Glancing over at the child, still fast asleep in her own little world as the MRI comes to a close, I feel nothing but sympathy for her. So young, and yet she has to go through something like this… for a bunch of strangers, no less, many of whom probably don't even deserve it.

And she doesn't even have a clue.

* * *

_**Jane's POV **_

"No. Absolutely not."

"Listen up, Miles," Lilly snarls, looking more like a puma than a woman at this point as the man tries to hold his ground, "you're going to march straight into Clementine's room, and you're going to feed her a decent meal. _Decent_. No piles of shit, no weeks-old corn, nothing that will cause her to feel ill. A proper fucking meal, or I'll ring your head in so hard that you won't be able to wake up in the morning."

Watching him squirm under her intimidating glare like this is possibly the funniest thing I've seen all day, but I keep my smile hidden under a blanket of indifference. In order for this plan to work, I need to maintain my guise and just allow Lilly to do her thing. We haven't heard a word about Ellie from anyone, which is worrying enough on its own, but right now, I'm fully aware that Clementine's going to need our help in order to get out of this mess.

Clutching a different object tightly in my hand behind my back, I tap my foot incessantly as I linger around the corner – right across from Clementine's room. Hopefully she'll actually be able to see what I've done here. I know that my handwriting's not the best.

Gulping, Miles stubbornly shakes his head as he repeatedly tries to tell Lilly that they were all told not to go near Clementine's room for fear of… ahem… _"compromising their own safety and endangering their lives"_. I've never been more disgusted in my entire life, except for the day that I was kicked out of the house. That right there hurt more than I had ever cared to admit.

But fortunately for all of us, Miles is starting to crack. He was never made to go toe-to-toe with Lilly Caul, especially when she's on the hunt. To most people, this usually makes her look like a total asshole.

"F-fine! Okay, I'll do it! Just… just stop yelling at me!" he agrees, getting a steely glare from Lilly as I sigh deflatedly. This is going to suck _so much_. Miles, for all intents and purposes, is actually one of the few people around here that I can stomach hanging out with. He's just… chill, I guess, with his mostly laid-back attitude and quiet yet kind personality. Basically, he's the polar opposite of what Lilly is.

But the only way for this to work is for him to be the one to hand Clementine her tray of food. This man is a prime target – no real connections, no family ties that we could be shredding to pieces, and nobody really caring enough to search for him if he goes missing. Sad, but unfortunately for him, it's kind of true.

That doesn't make me feel any better about this though, as my stomach churns at just the idea of doing something as horrendous as this. If Lilly feels the same way, then she's got a pretty damn good poker face. I can't spot anything other than her getting annoyed that this is taking so long, but there's no way that she isn't regretting this, too.

When I weigh out the pros and cons, however, the choice is clear. As Carver would put it, we're putting the lamb to the slaughter.

"Miles… give her this too, alright?" I stop him, handing the man a small, weathered paperback book as I practically shove the thing into his hands; not giving him the opportunity to refuse. "If you're seriously going to keep her in there by herself, then some reading material might not be such a bad idea. The kid's probably bored out of her skull by now."

I happen to know that Miles is also a huge bookworm and that he'd be able to relate, and once he sees the cover on the front of the book – _Lord of the Rings_ – he sighs and nods his head. "Sounds fair," he agrees as I pat him on the arm and give him one last genuine smile before he ventures towards Clementine's prison cell. Placing the tray of barely edible food onto the floor along with the novel, he makes sure that nobody else is looking before quickly scrounging through his pocket for his set of keys. Most of the residents have a pair of them after Kazuki and Scott had molded them all over the span of three weeks, but he happened to be the one to be loitering around this hallway at the time. This would be so much easier if we could just pick his pocket for the keys ourselves, since both Lilly's and mine were taken away when we came back, but he'd no doubt shriek for help if we tried. Neither of us are particularly good thieves, either, unless of course it's stealing something when nobody's home.

Closing my eyes and breathing deeply through my nose, I hear Lilly's footsteps getting closer towards me as Miles opens the door and quickly steps inside. "What now?" I ask, not wanting to be waiting right out in the hallway directly across from Clementine. That'd look a little conspicuous.

Tapping my shoulder and beckoning for me to follow, I tag along as we head towards the stairwell – no doubt where most of the occupants are going to be as we start to traipse the stairs.

"Now," she comments, opening the door to the second floor as we spot a bunch of the people having a chat to themselves, "we cause a distraction."

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"You've got friends in here, looks like," a voice calls out to me – soft yet enough to capture a little bit of my attention. Most of it's not on… whoever this person is, though. "Here, eat up. You never know when your next meal might be."

I can hear a plate of some sort being gently dropped in front of me and pushed towards my foot, but I don't move my gaze even an inch. I don't have any drive or desire to move around right now, not when all hope seems to be lost. I honestly think sending me off into a horde of walkers with nothing but my bare hands to fight with would be a nicer punishment at this point, rather than forcing me to look and stare at four barren walls all day. Now I know how Kazuki must've felt back then…

Feeling the mysterious person push the tray even further as it touches my leg, I lazily move my eyes to look at whatever mush this might be. Peas, mashed potatoes and pieces of corn – all tossed together in one big ball of green, yellow and brown. Diving down like a barn animal, I bury my face into my meal and start to eat without the use of my hands. Having them zip-tied behind my back like this is humiliating frankly, but what else can I do? It's not as if…

Oh… hello there… What have we here?

Watching as Miles of all people sets a book down onto the floor beside me, he frowns in sympathy as he lingers there; watching me for just a moment before awkwardly clearing his throat. "Jane and Lilly looked really concerned – and if you were wondering, Ellie's fine. James and Bo said – "

"I don't believe them."

He's about to speak yet again, but widely decides to hold his tongue and say nothing; abruptly strolling past me and checking to make sure that I haven't suddenly found a way to escape. I've been in every single room in this entire space station – if there was a way for me to get out, I would've found it by now.

"Right then…" he mutters, patting down some of the walls as I curiously flip open the book with my foot. Lord of the Rings? Why would they send me something like this? Jane and Lilly know that I'm not that into medieval stuff, with knights, horses and all of that shit.

Flipping through the massive number of pages and cringing at how long this is going to take to get through, I stop as in one of the pages, a small piece of paper falls out onto the floor in front of me. Cleverly disguised as some sort of bookmark, I do a quick double-take over my shoulder to make sure he isn't looking before shimmying the note open.

What I read sort of makes me wish that I hadn't read this stupid thing in the first place, but I know what it means. The message is barely anything other than a messily-written scrawl, but I get the point loud and clear.

"…Miles?" I whisper into the inky darkness, lit only by a small candle near the back corner and the light coming from under the doorway. "I can't eat or read properly… not like this. Not with my hands behind my back."

Knowing that he isn't going to like that idea, I clear my throat and interrupt the young man before he can talk again. I can practically hear the hesitation in his breathing as I correct myself.

"How about this – if it'll help you sleep at night, you can pull your gun out on me. Go ahead, it's not as if I'm getting anywhere like this," I chuckle, shrugging my shoulders as I hear the click of his gun and feel the barrel of his weapon brandished on the back of my head.

Damn, Miles has got some brass after all.

"You try anything," he warns, "and I… I'll…"

"I just want to eat and read this book in peace. That's it."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Miles slides the gun down to my neck as I hear him start to undo the zip tie that's been keeping my wrists barred and chafed for god knows how long now. It's been digging into my skin like a knife, and several times I've had to bite down hard on the inside of my cheek just to make the pain more bearable.

Letting my arms fall limp at my sides, not bothering to try and make a fuss in order to not draw any attention in on this room, I stare at him with a watchful eye and allow him to tie me back up at the front – exactly what I was hoping for.

He tightens my restraints almost to the point of cutting off the circulation in my wrists, but in all honesty, he has every right to be cautious about this. Miles isn't a cruel man, but he isn't about to let me off that easily. And why would he? Miles is in the same room as a murderer – a criminal in every sense of the word.

"Thank you," I smile, lying between my teeth as he slowly nods and eyes me for a couple more seconds. Trying to make it seem like I'm more interested in my dinner than anything else, I keep my head down until I hear the guy slowly walk back towards the door.

As soon as his foot pivots and his body is facing away from me, I spring up behind Miles and body check him right into the concrete wall; trying to take out his knees first as he drops his gun on the floor.

Fumbling around for the weapon with his free hand as I try to pin him down, Miles grazes his fingers onto it and nearly grasps it. Seeing this, and knowing that that shooting will end up becoming the death of me either way, I bite into his ear and rip a piece of it off with such fury that I taste the metallic scent of blood in my mouth.

"_Go for the eyes! Kenneth over here always loved that!" _Carver boasts, egging me on as Kenny growls back at Carver in my head. _"Fuck him up, Clementine. You know that you have to. Survival of the fittest – this man is weak, like Reggie… like your friends."_

"_Clementine, stop!" _Lee pleads; the schizophrenia causing my brain to hurt as I yelp out for all of them to get out of my head. _"You know this isn't right! This isn't you! You're better than this, we both know that!"_

"…no…" I disagree, wrapping my bonds around the front of Miles' neck as I pull back with all the strength I can muster. "I'm not… I'm not…"

"ACK! AAACCCKKK!" Miles grunts in a desperate attempt for air as I dig the restraints deeper into his throat. Strangling him for about thirty or so seconds, I wait for about a minute longer; not letting go in case the guy is just faking it. However, with his face turning a pale white, and no further breaths escaping his lungs, I take the scene for what it is – Miles is dead.

Lifting my arms over his head and kicking the deceased man onto his side, I quickly dart around inside of his pockets to find anything useful. Finding it to be fairly successful, I try to somehow find a way to cut my bindings without actually cutting myself, too. Having no other choice, I stick the knife into Miles' head and leave part of the blade exposed before rubbing the plastic material of the zip tie onto the sharp edge.

My god, am I under pressure here! I know that none of this is exactly normal, even by my standards, but this is a do or die situation right now. This could've been my only opportunity to try and make a break for it, and if one person had to die in order for me to save my friends, then so be it.

Although, it seems that Jane and Lilly have inadvertently just saved _my ass _this time around. Go figure.

Frowning as I finally manage to get the restraints off, I tenderly rub my wrists and sigh as I pick up Miles' gun from the floor. Plucking the knife out of his brain, I quickly whisper an apology before putting that into my pocket. If all goes to hell, which it surely will, then I'm going to need something to protect myself with.

It's awful how this ended up turning out, though. Miles showed me nothing but kindness and trust ever since I met him, and I repay the guy by choking him to death. So much for the promise right there, Clementine! Not exactly a great send-off here, but it's how it's gotta be. Killing the guy seems to be a pretty far cry from what Jane or Lilly wrote for me to do – getting the keys.

Standing up off of the dusty floor, I quickly undo the lock, carefully peek my head out into the hall, and shut the door behind me before booking it down the hall at lightning speed. I need to find Jane, Lilly and Ellie, and then we need to get the hell out of here.

Huh… sounds like my first night at the cabin all over again.


	35. Ready and willing

_AN: Hey all! Just wanted to start off by responding to some of the reviews that I've been neglecting along the past few weeks (particularly guests since I can't PM you, but also to some of the authors from the last chapter)._

_Aqua – We're gonna explore this in more detail in the later chapters, and I don't want to give too much away, but you're definitely on the right track :) Thanks for reviewing!_

_Galen: I'm gonna keep that in mind lol. You've got a good point there – Lee and Clem must've had the slipperiest hands of all time XD_

_Guest 1: Thank you, thank you, thank you! That's exactly what I was trying to convey here: that the three of them aren't good guys, and have been going through so much loss, heartache and emotional shit that they're selfishly trying to cling onto the scraps that they have left. I've been sort of trying to build on this idea over the course of this story, actually. _

_Savage Angel Fury: Aww, thanks for the compliment :) A big majority of the OCs in this story were given to me by some very generous people on this site, and I don't think this story would be getting quite this amount of feedback without them. So thanks to all of you guys for making my tiny idea of Jane, Lilly and Clem evolve into so much more!_

_Lastly, I just wanted to address something that a few people have been pointing out. No, I don't hate Kenny. Did I find some of his actions questionable? Sure, no doubt. Did I always agree with the guy? No, in fact a lot of my second playthrough of season 2 involved siding with Jane on a lot of points just to see how Clem's relationship with him would change. Personally I don't really think it changed that much at all, but still._

_I didn't make a story with Lilly and Jane – arguably two of the guy's main rivals – out of spite. I just thought that those two deserved some more spotlight, and a chance to see what might've happened if they were to ever meet up. It more than likely won't ever happen in the game, so this is all I have to fill the gap XD_

_I'm not Kenny's biggest supporter, obviously, but I'm not gonna constantly bash him or claim that he's a terrible character. Because he ISN'T a bad character. He's actually one of the more memorable ones in the game, and rightly so. But the whole concept of "Jane vs. Kenny" is fucking ridiculous. Just pick your ending, and don't shit on other people for not choosing the one you like. _

_Alright, enough droning from me. Here's the next chapter!_

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"You've killed lots of things now," I had pointed out, having held onto the belief that he was doing what was necessary. "It doesn't even matter."

"…killing is bad no matter what."

I remember being so confused as Lee was snipping away at my ebony, curly locks – possibly taking the last few strands of my childhood away too as the train kept rolling on towards the Georgia coastline. Killing was still… bad? If it was, then why was he still doing it? I never understood where we were supposed to draw that line in the dirt. Lee had never taught me that beforehand.

He never would, either. Even in his dying breaths, I still didn't fully grasp it.

"But… you do it to keep us all safe. And to protect me!" I had told him, hearing the scissors snipping through my hair as Lee tilted my head downwards.

I could tell he was shaking his head as he had let out a huge sigh. "Doesn't make it right," he basically repeated himself, just puzzling my nine year old mind even more as I pouted my bottom lip. My heart was still aching from our recent losses of Carley, Katjaa and Duck, but already my mind was finally starting to clue in to what was going on around me.

This wasn't some sick game we were all playing, or some really crappy nightmare that just seemed to go on and on forever. This was what real life was like now, and from what I had seen of our group and what we were going through, I had started to believe that suddenly, without anyone expressly stating it, the rules had changed. And it was almost as if it happened overnight.

Suddenly, good became bad, and bad became good. The smallest kind gesture towards helping out a stranger in need was often met with backlash and criticism. Stealing supplies out of some random person's station wagon and leaving an unknown man and his family with nothing but a few scraps was the right thing to do, even though I didn't agree with it. If this was bad, then why was everyone so content with it? Why were we all acting as if this was normal? How could something that had brought so much pain to another family be considered the right thing to do?

My head had hurt so badly trying to figure that out in the first couple of years, and even more so after I had seen Mom and Dad out on the street back in Savannah. My parents were dead from the start – I realized this fact a long time ago. But even still, I had holed out on a slim chance of hope. After all, I was young. Young and very, very stup- no, stupid isn't the right word for it. _Naïve _is probably better. Naïve and so, so lost. They had always been my anchor during my youth. I could've gone to them with anything. Any problem that I had, any bad trip, deep cut, mean bully… even just when I had wanted a hug. I wanted them to lie to me – to promise me that everything was going to be alright, just as Lee had lied to me so many times before.

Not that I minded, after all. He was just trying to tell me what I wanted to hear. No sense in getting a nine year old all worked up when there was already plenty enough to get frightened over. He was just being a caring, kind-hearted individual, just as I had always pictured him as.

Lee set the bar pretty high in terms of how to be a responsible caregiver – maybe a little _too _high. How am I supposed to compete with the way he went about things? Things are different now… aren't they? Would Lee have tried to take care of me the same way that he had before if he were faced with these same scenarios?

A part of me would actually like to think that he would, regardless of what might be in front of him. I don't want his legacy to get tainted in my eyes, and I wouldn't want his sacrifice to have been totally in vain over one little mistake.

This is my turn now, and I'm going to make the best with what I've got. And if that means that a few people have to die in order for me to achieve that goal, then so be it.

At the moment, I see three immediate problems. First, Miles' blood is matted onto my shirt, and no amount of scrubbing with my hand is going to remove the splotches. I'm basically a walking evidence bag, meaning that I'm more than likely to be shot on sight given everyone's attitude lately.

Two: I've just broken out of my cell, if that wasn't obvious enough. Not only was Miles supposed to be on watch duty, strolling down the halls and making sure that there were no shenanigans going about, but now the camp has a prisoner on the loose within the confines of their own home – a very angry, very dangerous prisoner. No doubt somebody's going to wonder where Miles has gone off to (sadly because they'd probably be more pissed that he isn't doing his job more than his actual wellbeing), and although I had made absolutely sure to close _and _lock the door behind me before I left, the smell's likely going to be wading out into the hallway at some point. They're gonna find out sooner rather than later.

Third is probably the biggest and most taxing of issues that I've been thinking about since I got out here: grabbing Ellie along with finding Lilly and Jane. I'm almost certain that they're waiting for me somewhere within the camp. After all, who else would've written me that note? No, they had meant to spring me, I'm sure of it. Thank goodness that they were tactful about it, though. The whole place would've been in a complete lockdown if they had caused a racket.

But how in the world am I supposed to get Ellie out of here? And what if… what if James and Bo have…

"_What I wouldn't give for some TV right about now…"_

"_Really, Ruben? What would there even be to watch? Sports? The only one I could think of would be walker hunting – and that's not really saying much."_

"You know what I mean though, don't you?" Ruben, one of the Fireflies (decked out in a swanky set of body armour along with a helmet that I didn't know we had around here) says to his friend. I had known previously that some of our guys had hit the jackpot out at an old military outpost to the north of here, and that Lilly in particular had taken a real interest in it, but had heard nothing more afterwards. Hmph… looks like I really wasn't that well-informed about things after all. "Just _some _kind of entertainment, or at least a little bit of news so we can hear about what's going on with the rest of the country. You wanna know what I did for fun yesterday?" he questions, their voices getting closer as I quickly dart into one of the kids' rooms. Thankfully they're out with their parents today. "Tile counting – there are exactly one thousand, two hundred and twenty seven roof tiles on the second floor of the space centre. Then I went to bed. How the fuck is that supposed to keep me sane for days on end?"

There's actually a possible exit for me through the window if I had planned on just breaking out and escaping, since the drop is negligible and I'd be able to make it past the watchtower stationed ahead with relative ease. We never have really had a purpose in keeping anyone stationed there, since the whole thing is blocked off by a thick, concrete wall that backs up onto the highway, and the courtyard is often bare with only shrapnel and old, loose newspapers flying about. But there's no way I'd be able to get back inside to my friends from out there, and I'd be cornered off by the wall regardless…

Sticking to the initial "winging it" plan, I hug Miles' gun to my chest and wait for the two boys to pass by; just praying that I won't have to resort to violence this time. I know my limits, and avoiding conflict altogether is often the best possible outcome that I could hope to achieve.

"Heh, maybe you should try going out beyond the walls with me for a change. It'll give you a chance to see what it's really like on a run!" he chuckles as the footsteps stop a few feet away from the door.

Ruben doesn't seem to like that idea too much. "No way, man. That might be actually a little _too _exciting. Walkers are one thing, but now that we've got these bandits and shit? I think I'll just take my chances when we start looking for a new home."

"Yeah… maybe a change of scenery would do us all some good."

"Anything's better than here… That Racheal chick was right. Clementine was a time bomb. I knew letting a kid lead a group of adults was the dumbest idea I'd ever heard. Fucked us all over big time."

"No argument from me on that one."

_Well then you don't really have to worry about that anymore, assholes, _I spitefully think to myself, although finding myself very self-conscious about his words even as Ruben and whoever it was beside him go about their business. _Sigh… _was I really that incompetent? Should I have just laughed at the whole idea and handled the mantle of leadership over to someone else? Lilly probably would've done a good job – she _has _done it before, after all. Maybe she could've made some better decisions and had a much firmer grasp on things than I ever did. Jane… well, honestly I doubt that she'd ever want to be in charge around here, but hey, you never know I suppose.

Anything's better than the total crap-fest that's going on right now. I'm surprised that half the camp hasn't already started to turn on each other and leave. Although I suspect that within the next few days, if someone hasn't stepped up to take over, then that'll probably start to be the case. The Houston Space Centre's gonna be a shadow of its former self.

So much for being one of the major players on Scott's old settlement map.

…holy shit. That's it! I've got it! I know exactly where we should start heading towards!

Feeling slightly excited at the prospect of actually having a solid idea of what to do after pulling off this daring rescue, I take my chances and slowly creak back out into the hallway; looking both ways before darting away and off towards the medical bay. I know this place inside out – every nook, cranny and possible hiding spot in the entire place is neatly tucked away inside my head. And the only possible place that James would've taken that kid away is within a little, tightly concealed room in the corner of the spaceship room – the very same spot that I had seen James performing his experiments on people so long ago.

Making sure to have eyes in the back of my head at all times so as to not get discovered, I keep my gun out in front of me and keep moving forward; taking care that my footsteps are light enough not to echo off the walls. I can see part of the gang – Kazuki, Marcus, Alden, Kelly and Scott – burying some of our people out in the back, and my stomach drops a tad. I owe those guys my life several times over, and this is how I'm going to repay them? After all that we've been through together, I'm just going to take off without a word of goodbye?

It's tough, and really disheartening to admit, but it's probably for the best. I know that they weren't involved in keeping me locked up, since we've all had our fair share of mistakes in the past. They get it. They understand what it's like to potentially lose someone that you care deeply for.

But at the same time, I don't want to risk the chance of being wrong about them. They were my friends, sure, but has that changed? There's a big possibility that whatever Bo and Racheal and Katie and whoever else had said to them may have torn and tainted our friendship to no end. Maybe to them I'm just some asshole who screwed them over, which seems to be the majority of thinking right now anyways. Ugh… just thinking about that get me going… I need to get the hell out of here.

Silently thankful that Tommy hasn't been here for years and thus hasn't been able to trigger up any alarm system in this place, I push the door to the spaceship room open and get confused as to why I don't need to punch in the code on the door. This… this is too easy. Where is everyone? Why aren't they guarding this place as if the most sacred treasure in all the land is tucked away inside? I would've figured that there'd be at least five patrols set up, but mysteriously, I don't see a single one.

Once I start to hear the whirring of the power slowly start to dissipate, and watch as the lights start flickering, a small smile sprouts upon my lips. "You guys are geniuses," I compliment, even though neither of the two women can hear me right now. This is my chance right here – come what may, I'm going to get Ellie out of here once and for all.

Like a snake, I hide behind a computer desk and resist the urge to shoot Bo in the head as I steal the map off of the table; hearing his raspy voice calling out to James as he walks on ahead.

"Don't worry, I'll check it out! I'll be back in a few!" he promises, rolling his eyes as James gives him a half-hearted wave of approval. "Into one ear and out the other, seriously…" he murmurs, nearly spotting me as I quickly duck my head and wait for the bald-headed cancer patient to leave.

As physically sick and traumatized as he's become over the years, Bo still somehow has managed to be pretty capable. He could easily just have shot me as soon as I walked up the front steps, but he didn't.

And I have no idea why.

* * *

_**Lilly's POV **_

"UGH!"

Down goes yet another entire cabinet full of papers, file folders and office supplies, stacked haphazardly onto the floor along with all of the other chairs, desks and tables that we could scrounge together in such a short notice. Cutting the power was easy enough, as the cords were pretty exposed and all it took was just a few swift cuts from Jane's hunting knife to slowly dim the entire complex. Causing a distraction took a little bit of thinking on my part, mostly because it involved drenching the entire second level in the gasoline from some of the tanks we had collected for emergencies. Nobody had suspected a thing, naturally, and as much as that might hurt us in the long run, it did manage to capture a bunch of attention – even some that we _didn't _want. Walkers have been hearing all of the noise that we've been making and are close to pounding on the walls outside.

But blocking off the hallway? Now _that _has taken some time – time that we simply don't have. Bullets have been fired blindly in our direction as we've been stacking them up high, and I think one had even grazed Jane's leg briefly, but the main problem is that our plan hasn't exactly gone off without a hitch. Even in the dark, Racheal and Katie knew that it was Jane and I causing all of this unbridled mayhem, and have since taken over in trying to take us down.

"Pick your spots and don't let them escape!" Racheal bellows as I just barely avoid some of her gunfire. The flash of bullets is the only thing that's lighting up the corridors out here, but the reason that she's being so careful about it is that with one false move, the whole thing could be set ablaze. They can't have that, otherwise _her _plan of getting out of here will go down the tubes as well. "You could've made this much easier on yourself, Lilly! On _all of you! _It still doesn't have to go down like this!"

I don't answer, and neither does Jane for fear of letting her know our location, so the two of us keep backing up and sending out all the furniture that we're physically able to carry. It's a good thing that they hadn't gotten over here before we could construct our makeshift barricade, otherwise we would've been totally screwed. Our only saving grace now might be this and the very things that we've been killing for years, who have actually started to break through the thinly-layered and worn down defenses that we've got downstairs. Just when we all think that we've cleared out the walkers in the city, somehow they always manage to find a way to spring back up. Texas did have a pretty big population, come to think of it. There were bound to be some that we had missed.

I can only hope that Clementine hasn't gotten caught yet, and that Miles was actually gullible enough to buy into everything.

"This should buy us some time…" Jane whispers over to me, placing her hand on my forearm and ushering me to leave it well enough alone. "No time for nitpicking! We've gotta go!"

"Alright…" I agree as Katie tries to take down some of what we've built here. True, this should be able to give us just the amount we need to get back downstairs, but will the metal plates downstairs be able to hold out until we leave this place behind us in the dust? I severely doubt it.

Without my hunting rifle, I'm almost completely defenceless against their onslaught of attacks, and pissing off the mob of people behind all of those pieces of furniture probably wasn't such a grand idea. But my gut is telling me that the only way we're going to save Clem is for us to take the sneaky approach – meaning, little to no firearms allowed, aside from the tiny 10 mm pistol I've got in the back of my pants. I don't even think Jane _has _a gun at this point.

"So," Jane quirks as we bound down the staircase as fast as we can, "who's buying the celebration beer after we haul ass out of here?"

Chuckling lightly, I shrug my shoulders and turn around the corner until we can see the main floor once again. It's kind of alarming seeing the flailing, undead limbs shambling in from the outside as our planks have started to give way, but I steel my nerves and pull my wi – I mean, _friend_ – over with me to the side. "As long as I get some food in my stomach, I think I'll be satisfied. God, I'm starving…"

"Maybe I can take all of you guys fishing again, huh? Just the three of us. Let the pro show you how it's done – it'll be just like old times."

"…you do mean _four_, right?" I ask, wondering if she's been having the same disturbing thoughts about what's going to happen (or, has already happened) to Ellie now that the secret's out.

She doesn't answer me for a few moments, sporting a blank expression as she lets go of my arm and keeps one eye open for anything out of the ordinary. "…right…" she adds, making me sigh with doubt. The possibility has constantly been lingering there, and we both know it. Ellie's fate was up in the clouds the moment that we had gotten back, no matter what Clementine may have had to say about it. In fact, I've still got mixed feelings about the entire thing even hours after I found out that she is in fact, immune.

The best kept secret that I've ever even heard of was probably also the biggest dick move that I've ever experienced. I don't know who to root for anymore – Clementine, or the rest of us.

"That's not gonna hold," I remark as one of the walkers get their body about halfway through the window, with their insides getting ripped apart by the sharp edges of glass and metal as its piercing, unfeeling eyes cast their way over towards us. Even if they can't see us in the dark, their scent of smell is probably just working into overdrive. I see that their hunger for the taste of human flesh is on point, as always…

Looking over with skepticism, Jane purses her lips and instinctively holds onto the grip of her knife. "Please tell me that you've got a backup plan just in case, Lilly," she remarks, grimacing as three more take the plunge inside. "I don't think we really accounted for walkers to come in and wreck the entire – "

_BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG! _

Right now, I think that we're just about screwed. This whole plan has just gone to shit in a matter of seconds. I think that Katie or Racheal have found us, shoved the cabinets to the side and have rejoined the two troublemakers down on the main floor, and that they and the rest of this place have started to combat the walkers who are now trying to pour into the base like a leaky hole in a boat.

My blood runs cold as all of the possibilities swim through my brain – most of them involve Jane and I getting torn up by bullets until, at the very last moment, Racheal stands over me; holding Clementine's decapitated head in her arm and dropping it to the floor beside me as Jane turns into a walker. My body would get ripped open like a ragdoll by the very person that I love so dearly, and all the while I'd be screaming for one of those assholes to just end it all in a quick, painless fashion.

But that doesn't happen. Not exactly, anyways. Sure, they've started shooting the walkers from atop the roof and through the few open windows on the second floor, but somebody else has killed the walkers that had managed to break inside.

"Easy now," Bo coaxes, stepping out from the shadows as he tries to talk us down. "I'm not going to hurt you – either of you. You know that. But for the love of god, could you please put your weapons down? We need to talk. Preferably somewhere a little more private than this."

"We're not stupid, Bo. We all know that we're way past that. The time for talking is gone," I point out, still not having drawn my gun at the guy as I see Jane's head turning back and forth to watch the walkers.

Sighing, as though he himself actually _believed _that we would be giving up just like that after all of this, Bo fires another bullet at an incoming walker before glancing through one of the sections that they haven't broken into yet. "Won't be long before they get in," he mentions, feigning annoyance as he frowns at the outside world. "Was the sabotage really necessary? You couldn't have found a better way to get Clementine out than this? I guess that I shouldn't really be surprised with all the cloak and dagger, considering the two of you – "

"Get the fuck out of here, Bo," Jane demands, sounding more like a plead than anything else as I concur. "Just go! You're not stupid – you know that we'll overpower you. We're giving you a chance here. Dying like this is just stupid! Walk away from this with your life… and you'll never see us again, I promise you."

"…why would you throw this away?" Bo ponders as I stiffen up a little bit. Maybe it's the threat of danger on both ends of the hall that's really making me think, or maybe it's just that I've been wondering the same thing that he's telling me now. "Ellie… she's just a child, yes. I know that. But is it really worth all of this? We could work together and just… be done with this whole thing. Go back to our normal lives again. And Ellie's the key to making that happen."

"I don't think locking Clem up and throwing away the key really counts as _working together_," I bitterly add as Bo grumbles under his breath.

"Clem…" he begins, looking as though he might've just lost a protégé or something, "she… she just didn't get it. Couldn't accept that keeping Ellie alive was a mistake. She couldn't put the good of everyone over that of one person… this isn't what Ellie would want."

"You don't know that, Bo."

"That's what this entire organization was made for, Lilly. How do you think we got so many people rounded up together in the first place?"

…he's got me on that one, doesn't he? Sure, the prospect of having a roof over our heads and a firm, strong community to back us up with food, supplies and protection was too good to ignore at the start, it did end up becoming something more. We turned into a sort of post-apocalyptic United Nations of sorts, trying to bring people together under one cause and to get society rolling again. Not in the exact same way that we had been used to before, naturally, but something of an order to things would've helped a lot of us sleep at night. I hated how things were going, with people dying left and right without any possible hope of saving them. It wasn't fair how the few people that I truly gave a shit about were taken away from me right before my eyes. I didn't want that to happen anymore. I wanted to just… start over, I guess.

And the only way to do that was to try and go with this ambitious yet totally unrealistic plan of theirs. Saving the world? That kind of shit just didn't happen. Really, the only reason I was sold on it was because Clementine practically begged me to join, and I had made a promise to her that I wouldn't abandon her ever again. Clem, Jane and I would hold out as long as we could. Finally, my life had purpose again. For a second time, I had something worth preserving.

But now that the opportunity's here, should I really be squandering it? How long's it gonna be before another person like Ellie comes along to give us the cure to this walker disease? Will it ever actually come? Maybe I'll be dead by then.

It's a huge dilemma, one that I'm not prepared to solve without a little help.

Bo must've been reading my face like an open book, because the next thing he does is soften his approach and lower the gun gently to the side. "I can make you an offer here," he tempts us with reasonable caution. "You stop this, help us get the power back on so James can continue his work, and we'll let you walk away from this with no trouble at all. No backlash, no bullshit. You guys and Clem can just head off on your own… hell, we'll even _cure you_, for Christ's sake."

"You don't even know if it'll work yet," Jane accuses, voicing my thoughts exactly as I glare at the man.

"Well… not yet, no. But give it time and – "

"How long's it gonna be before Katie and Racheal decide to slit our throats while we wait? The whole fucking camp wants our heads on pikes, Bo," I exaggerate, but only for the desired effect as I eye the encroaching walkers wearily. "And besides," I add in, throwing a curveball through this whole elaborate pitch of his, "it's not your decision to make. It's not _any _ of ours, come to think of it. It's Ellie's."

"This is what she'd want. If she knew what it all meant, then – "

"You haven't even asked her yet," Jane intervenes, not saying a word to Bo as he fails to notice a walker strolling up to his position near one of the open windows. With a little luck, maybe it'll… "Have you?"

Bo's never really had a silver tongue, and hasn't really been known for his ability to lie through his teeth. So I can tell from a mile away what he's thinking when he tells us that he has – a big, fat _no_.

And with Clementine already on the hunt for her little companion, along with all of the odds stacked against us, it seems that we have little choice other than to go through with our original idea.

"You need to reconsider this," Bo warns more edgily, holding his gun back up as he threatens Jane and I. "I'm giving you a chance here – a chance to do the right thing."

"We are."

"They'll hunt you like animals to the ends of the earth for this."

"We know."

Saddened and depressed that he couldn't really sway us to go along with what he had proposed, even though I'm sure that that's all Jane's probably thinking about right now, he shakes his head is disappointment. "I still can't let you leave…" he mumbles as the both of us are put on high alert. "One way or another, this isn't going to end well. Somebody has to – "

"_GRAAAGGGHHH!_" bellows the walker as it smashes through the window and clamps its jaws down onto Bo's arm – the metallic one, that is. Its front teeth break as it tries to chew like an idiot through the metal plaster, but Bo is still surprised enough to let down his guard. He goes to fire a bullet into the walker's head, but Jane pounces on him and, with my help, manages to tackle the guy to the ground; bringing the walker inside with us as the struggle for dominance begins. Punches and kicks are thrown as Bo thrashes at all three of his targets, but when I get a good look at his face, I can see fear in his eyes. We've all got that when we know that the end is coming. It's the look you get when you know precisely then that you're going to die.

And I've got to say – as much as I may have disliked him recently, I don't want him to go out like this. Having a walker take a bite out of you before slowly having the infection seep into your brain is a terrible way to go. The guy's already been through enough. Even he doesn't deserve this to happen to him.

Still, even as a crippled man with lung cancer, he's still a survivor through and through, and is putting up one hell of a fight. He's already managed to keep the walker at bay with his free hand and has tried to direct its snapping jaws towards Jane instead, but thankfully she dodges it just in the nick of time with a swift kick to the thing's face. More of the gnarly undead creatures are coming in from ways away, putting the pressure up a little bit, so I take some of Bo's actual, living fingers and snap them sideways; hearing him scream in pain and grunting as I'm roughly kicked in the stomach. Winded, I hold my gut and try to get the air to re-enter my lungs as Jane quickly shoves me to the side before Bo can fire his gun. Mine's still in the back pocket of my jeans, but it's too painful right now to reach it. And there's no way that Jane will be able to knife the guy now that the walkers are getting so close.

"RUN!" she screams at me, ducking as Bo fires a couple of wild shots that go sailing over our heads. I do as she says, regaining my strength and turning my head back around only to see Bo reluctantly letting us head into the board room.

"Say goodbye to James for me…" I hear him whisper on the wind as he turns back around to make his final stand. With no way out, and nothing but his pistol to protect himself with, Bo grits his teeth and shoots at the oncoming walkers that are quickly surrounding him. Even through all of the pain, somehow he's still able to keep on fighting.

With a heavy heart, I slam the door shut just as the walkers start to overwhelm him.

* * *

_**Clem's POV **_

"You know they'll be coming for us, right? Every one of us."

"Shut up, and stay where I can see you."

"Clementine, please just listen to me. This right here? It's a huge mistake. The biggest one you'll ever make."

"I said shut up!" I bellow like a madwoman, firing a bullet at his computer screen, shattering the data he had on there and threatening to lodge a round into his brain if he doesn't cooperate with me. He looks incredibly distraught as I ruin part of his life's work, and he's about ready to holler out at me again, but a swift, threatening stare from me zips his mouth closed for at least a brief stint. "There. That wasn't so hard now, was it?" I mock, never taking my eye off the doctor for fear of what he might try as I pick Ellie up into my arms. Carrying her bridal style, I unhook the various wires and medical equipment from her as I frantically try to save her life.

She's breathing, at least. So there's that.

"…don't let this be what you're remembered for, Clementine… You… you can still make this right…"

"Murdering my little girl isn't making ANYTHING right! I know what you're going to do to her!"

"Would you listen to yourself right now?! She's not your daughter, Clementine!" James reminds me, although every bone in my body is telling me that she might as well be at this point. "Open your eyes and look at how many people you're hurting! You're supposed to be _saving _people, not throwing away this… this _gift_."

"You're right," I nod, making sure not to turn my back on him as Ellie stirs in her sleep. "Ellie _is _a gift, and I'm not going to let her get fucked over just so that you can have your weird, little experiments on her brain! She's… she's all I've got left!"

Saddened eyes form behind his glasses as James, the man that I had nearly gunned down when he wasn't looking, slowly rises to his feet as I edge my way back towards the door. "That's not true at all, sweetheart…" he sighs, sounding much more like the kind, caring James rather than the scientific one that I see him as right now. "You've still got so much left to live for… As do the rest of us. People like Ellie only come about once in a lifetime. She's the only hope that we've ever had at making a cure for all of this madness. Please, Clem… if you ever cared about the Fireflies at all… you'll put her back so that we can start this over again."

"…I care about Ellie more," I respond decisively a moment later, casting a sympathetic look over to James as he watches me take the one chance he had away from him.

Slipping out into the spaceship room, I'm met with a great yet terrifying sight – Lilly and Jane have returned, but are fighting off impossible odds as the Houston Space Centre starts to get turned inside out. Walkers have started to overtake the base, if the loud groans from outside are any indication, and so heading back out the way I came is completely out of the question. Ellie's gonna be passed out from whatever drugs James had given her for what seems to be a very long time, and there's no telling how long we're going to be able to hold out here for.

Locking the door tightly so that James can't get out of the medical bay at the moment, I carefully set Ellie down in a spinning chair before joining Lilly and Jane in holding the door against an onslaught of the undead. I had swiped James' key when I first got into the medical bay, so I don't have to worry on that front. He won't be using it to escape.

"You came back…" I murmur, my head still spinning with thoughts – my own, as well as the dozen or so others that have penetrated into my brain.

"We never left," Jane grunts, putting her back into it as she grinds her teeth together. "But Jesus fucking Christ, Clem… this better have all been worth it. Is Ellie…?"

"Back there," I acknowledge, nodding over at the sleeping child as Lilly spots her with a grimace. "Look, I know this is bad, but… but we can still do this! I've figured it out! All we need to do is head to Alexandria, and – "

Obviously finding the very notion ridiculous, Lilly intervenes to immediately try and shoot the idea down. "Alexandria? Are you kidding me? That's all the way up in Virginia!" she reminds me as I bite my lip in admittance. "How are we supposed to even get that far, Clem? Walk? They'll catch up to us in no time, not to mention that we'll run out of food long before then!"

Not wanting to back down, I stubbornly shake my head and put some more pressure on the pounding door.

"We can hunt on the way there, then! There's bound to be some deer along the way, plus all of the rabbits and other wildlife hopping around…"

"Clem…"

"I can even teach Ellie how to scavenge for supplies like we used to back then! We'll all go out together, and hopefully by then everyone will have just moved on and – "

"CLEMENTINE!" Lilly yells, stopping me in my tracks as she shakes her head violently. "Think more clearly here! There's no way that you're even getting out of this _city _on foot, let alone across the country! What else do we have?"

The panic is starting to settle in, I'm pretty sure. James is now trying to get out, as I can see him faintly banging on the glass and twisting the doorknob with all of his might, and Lilly and Jane seem to be really on edge. I can't imagine what might be freaking them out right now…

"Uhh… well…" I stutter, finding it difficult to think straight when all of the pressure is building up on top of each other. "What about… the helicopter?"

"No roof access! Think of something else!"

"I'm trying!" I angrily retort, leaving my post for just a minute as I spread the map flat on the desk. "There's… there's gotta be something else we can…" I cut myself off, smacking myself in the forehead and wondering how the hell I didn't think of this before. "The trucks! There's still one downstairs! If we can get to it before the walkers can, then we'll be all set!"

"That thing's barely got any juice left! It'll get you maybe a few miles at best!"

"That's just enough to get us out of the city!"

"Are you sure you want to take that risk?" Jane asks me seriously as I tilt my head to the side. What's she asking me this for as if the two of them aren't coming with me?

…no. No fucking way.

I haven't felt this frightened to go out of the space centre since I was still a little kid, as tears start to well up uncontrollably in my eyes and I stubbornly shake my head. "No, no, no! You're leaving! We're… we're all leaving! Together! That's what we promised!" I refuse, slamming my fist on the table as Lilly and Jane steadily look downwards. "Damn it! You can't do this! We need to stick together! You're coming with us! Guys, I _need _you!"

"I step off this door, and every walker out there barges inside," Lilly points out matter-of-factly. She's not angry like I had thought she would be with me, but just… concerned. She wants us all to be safe, I know that, and there's likely nothing in the world she'd rather do right now than to join Ellie and I on our journey to… well, to wherever it is the road takes us, really. "Go, kiddo. Just get her out of here, and keep your head on your shoulders. C'mon, Clem… don't get so upset!" she painfully smirks towards me. "You're acting as if this is the last time we'll ever see each other!"

"I don't want to lose you again…"

"You won't," Jane continues, trying to make me feel a little bit more hopeful about this bleak and dire situation. "We're gonna see each other again, alright? We'll meet you at Alexandria – hell, I bet we'll even be at the gates before the two of you manage to get there!"

"…promise?" I tearfully ask them, feeling so childish and helpless at the same time. But I need to hear it – I need them to tell me that this is all going to work out, and that everything is going to be alright. I need them to be my Lee for the day, just as I plan to be him for Ellie when we're out of here.

Nodding hesitantly, the both of them promise me at the exact same time, and I stand there for only a brief time before choking down a terrified sob and racing over to scoop Ellie back up into my arms. The passage to the basement is blocked partially with debris, but the two of us are just barely able to squeeze through and open the door that leads downwards.

Taking one last look at the two women, I shake my head and try my best to focus on the task at hand – keeping Ellie alive. That's all that matters anymore.

_Do what you think is right here, sweet pea, _Lee echoes from afar, perched up against the truck casually as I smash the back window and undo the lock; cursing my misfortune as the alarm blares like crazy. _That's all that I ask – do what your heart's telling you. It'll point you in the right direction._

"Then why are you telling me this like I'm making the wrong choice?"

_Only you can know what that right choice is, _he repeats as I realize that, even though everything he's telling me is how I'd picture he would actually speak, in reality there's nobody there. Lee is _gone_. I watched him die – I shot him in the head, and made sure that he didn't come back.

"You're not here…" I shudder, gently placing Ellie in the back seat on her side as I fumble for the keys in the front. We always have the keys lodged up in the vanity mirror so that they'd never get lost. "You're not here… None of you are…"

Ignoring all of my betraying thoughts and demons as they all at once try to convince me that they're still alive and kicking, I start the engine and shakily pull a u-turn; heading straight towards the exit at an unsafe speed.

Awaiting me at the garage door is Emily of all people, pointing a gun straight towards me as she tries to get me to come out of the vehicle. But I won't be swayed – I've put far too much on the line here to risk it just because of a gun pointed at my face, and I rev the engine once to get her to try and move out of the way.

I've known her for a long time, along with most of my other friends around here. We've stuck it out through the worst conditions imaginable, and it's horrible that it's had to come to this stage.

But if I must, I'm more than prepared to take Emily head on; to flatten her out like a pancake and leave her broken body on the concrete if that's what it'll come to.

"Please, Emily…" I shake my head sadly, pointing out a gun of my own and placing it upon my lap. The girl's shaking her firing hand with trepidation, and it's hard not to notice the conflicting emotions upon her face. She knows that I wouldn't do this without a damn good reason.

And so, after about five seconds or so, she caves. Hanging her head lowly and refusing to look at me, she steps to the side and allows me to leave; even going so far as to actually pull the chain down in order to open the garage for me.

"…thank you, Emily," I roll down the window and tell her sincerely, although she still refuses to acknowledge anything. "For everything. Tell the guys I said the same."

"…just go," she flatly responds, and I frown before reluctantly doing so; leaving her in the dust as I try to dart off in an opposite direction of this once amazing place. Now it's nothing more than a festering pile of shit, with some of the best people I've ever met still trapped inside.

The least I can do is honk the horn and attract the attention of some of the incoming walkers as they stumble their way closer to the truck.

Jane and Lilly better be at Alexandria with us. Because I'm pretty sure it's our last remaining option.


	36. Please stand by for assistance

_AN: Hey, guys – first and foremost, for those of you still tuning in, thank you for sticking with it! I know it's been a hell of a long time since I updated, but I guess that's what a lack of passion and time on my part will do sometimes. I just lost the groove for it, I guess._

_But anyways, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it :)_

* * *

_**James' POV**_

Well, this is one hell of a mess we're in. Walkers are nearly bursting at the seams trying to get in here, Ellie's been kidnapped by Clementine, I'm currently locked inside of the medical ward, and Bo is basically nowhere to be found. Seriously, out of all the times for him to have gone wandering off to play the hero, this was easily the worst opportunity of them all. Where in the world did he wander off to? Doesn't he realize just how urgent things are right now?

Thankfully, I happen to know the guy pretty darn well at this point, and I realize that he's more than capable of keeping himself out of danger. Bo's probably either somewhere upstairs trying to keep the panic levels down, or he's at a good enough vantage point that he'd be able to shoot at the walkers from above. So really, all things considered, I don't truly need to worry about him.

There are much more pressing matters at the moment, I'm afraid. For instance, the situation with Jane and Lilly is looking pretty grim – for _me_. They keep looking back here and talking amongst themselves, probably plotting something else besides what they've unleashed upon the space centre. Could they have planned this all out from the beginning? How? Clementine was locked up in one of the most secure parts of the building! Unless one of them just happened to randomly develop some form of telepathy over the past day or so, then there's no way they would've been able to communicate.

No matter, there's no time to dwell on that right now, and definitely no time to lose. Somehow I need to get out of here without getting shot at by Lilly and Jane, who look as though they're one step away from letting go of the door and letting all of those monsters get in and wreck the place. I'm certainly not as much of a coward as I once was, but I should probably think about this. If I bust myself out, then what's stopping the walkers from just gobbling me up on the spot? No, there's got to be a better way. Something that's gonna…

"Oh crap…" I mumble, realizing that with the mass of undead starting to barge in here, that there's only going to be one thing stopping them from completely eviscerating me and everyone else, but it's gonna be risky. _Very _risky. Not to mention all the destruction and chaos it'll potentially cause inside. However, I don't see any other immediate options right now, and if I don't act fast, the entire complex could be overrun within the hour.

Let's see if my chemistry skills are going to come in handy here, shall we? Time to make some fireworks, so to speak.

Racing back towards the medical bay, and trying not to get too rattled about how all of my medical data about Ellie's progress had just gotten destroyed a few moments ago, I scramble to find what I need. Digging through shelves, knocking various things to the side and onto the floor as I continue to search, I grow increasingly frustrated. Normally, I'd be able to craft a makeshift bomb with some basic ingredients, such as a tank of gasoline and a match (likely what Lilly and Jane no doubt used upstairs in the first place). But with this place hardly ever being used up until today, and the room's purpose having been as a medical bay to start with, we never had really gotten around to stocking it full of harmful chemicals that could eventually kill us if we weren't careful.

But, I seem to recall having spotted something earlier that might end up working in my favour, if luck is still somewhat on my side. I certainly hope it is.

"Bingo," I praise, hitting half of the jackpot as I pull out the dusty box of baking soda from the back corner of the far end cupboard. Anyone who's made a volcano in science class can probably see where I'm going with this, but there's one small problem with my otherwise brilliant plan. How in the world would a baking soda and vinegar reaction help me get rid of the walkers? After all, it's probably one of the most basic chemical reactions in the world!

Well, yes, that's true. More than anything, if I just threw it at the walkers, the most it would likely do is entertain the mindless beasts for a few seconds, or just agitate them enough to chomp on my limbs more quickly. But, as I reach over near the sink for a small bottle of vinegar (the workers here used to love French fries back in the day), I quickly get set to work. I have some bigger plans for you, little fella.

I haven't heard any moans yet from the outside, so I take it as though Jane and Lilly either haven't left just yet, or they have and have simply barred the door with something. I have no way of knowing what's going on with the rest of the group, but I can only hope that they're safe and in somewhat good hands. That's all I can ask for at this point, as from down here I can't exactly be a knight in shining armour. That'd be asking for far too much right now.

A rush of nostalgia overtakes me somewhat as I gather my materials together, almost feeling like a young adult in my early thirties; blossoming in my career and enjoying my married life to Heather. Times were so very complicated back then, but that's what largely made it more exciting. We were doing all the cutting-edge research that I had dreamed about as a boy – rocket science, biochemistry, space travel, you name it. Every day felt like I was living in an episode of Star Trek, charting my own course across the universe with each new scientific advancement we had made. We were an outfit of NASA, and despite some of the major setbacks that happened, I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything. Pardon the pun, but I had the best of both worlds.

I set the ingredients, along with a thin roll of paper towel, onto a side table as I clear off a handful of old books and pamphlets that I don't need anymore. The urgency of what's waiting for me outside only quickens my pace and strengthens my resolve, so with that in mind, I get to work. In order to save the human race, as farfetched and utterly ridiculous as it sounds at this point, I _need _to be alive. There's no two ways about it.

But just as I'm about to unscrew the lid off of the vinegar bottle and conduct my seventh grade experiment, I catch a glimpse of another white, plastic bottle with the label largely having been torn off. A small grin tugs at the corners of my lips as I realize what its contents hold inside – rubbing alcohol.

This will definitely give me the extra push I need to get things heated in here. Time to have some fun.

* * *

Alright, almost all of it is set up now. Bo, despite the constant lectures I gave him about the dangers of smoking and how we had just given him months of chemo, still insisted on keeping a pair of matches around, and had left them on one of the work stations inside. That'll give me more than enough to light the small strip of paper towel that I've got hanging out the side of the bottle, but I'm going to have to time this properly.

Earlier, after giving me what I perceived to be a sympathetic frown, Jane and Lilly had left; hopping up to the upper deck and disappearing before I could tell which way they were going. They had taken some kind of map with them, but without knowing their destination it'll be almost impossible to track them down.

And naturally, the walkers have since then flooded the spaceship room. What a gigantic surprise.

_Sigh… _Oh well, I can cross that bridge when I get to it, I suppose. Time to put this baby into action. Quickly grabbing the computer monitor that I had just dragged over here from the medical bay, I begrudgingly hold it up in my arms and start to swing my arms and torso in a fluid motion. With a mighty thrust, I toss the monitor at the glass, leaving a fairly decent crack in the middle as I pick up the computer screen once again. Attracted by the noise, the walkers start to lurch forward at an impressive pace. It's such a shame that Clem had to go and do something like this, especially since I was considering getting her out of her cell myself at one point. I never wanted her to be caged up like that – I cared about that girl more than anybody had ever realized. Despite her secret, I didn't really have anything against her. Whether we care to admit it or not, she kept us together, her, Lilly and Jane. Nobody else had the same survival sense that those three had, not even Bo. Without them, we'd probably have sunken years ago, and none of this stuff – the Fireflies, the food, the shelter – would've lasted for as long as it has.

More than that though… they were my friends. Each and every one of them. We had struggled together for so long to maintain a place that we could call home, shared more meals together than I could possibly count, and somehow managed to work out our differences enough to really build a tight-knit community. Our system wasn't perfect, but it was working, and it kept us breathing.

But then she went and threw all of this away. With one incredibly immature, short-sighted mistake, Clem's now become the most wanted person in the state. Possibly the entire country, or at least what's left of it that hasn't been claimed by the dead. My own personal feelings can't get in the way this time – she needs to be stopped. We need to hunt her down like a wild animal, and make sure that Ellie stays alive. That's the priority now, and as harsh as it might sound, Clementine has only herself to blame. She brought this upon herself.

Ignoring this for now, I give the monitor another couple of swings before finally shattering a good chunk of the window, with jagged edges of glass shards still hanging dangerously close by. I manage to slam one of the walkers' heads down onto the glass in order to buy me a little bit of time, but my window of opportunity is wearing thin, no pun intended.

With fast, delicate hands, I shake up the mixture a little bit so that the rubbing alcohol and baking soda can combine. The vinegar probably won't cause the thing to explode on me right away by doing this, so I quickly pour a whole bunch of it into the glass bottle before screwing the lid back on and shaking it again. My breath becomes heavier as I shy away from the walkers reaching out to grab at me. "Showtime," I murmur, standing up and lighting the match as I prepare to set the fuse.

A Molotov cocktail would be a fairly effective way of getting rid of a handful of walkers on their own, but I'm thinking bigger. I'm thinking the giant, unoccupied (I hope) rocket ship standing idle over in the centre of the launch pad, and how not all of the rocket fuel has been completely sapped out of its massive engine down below. If I can aim this properly, and get it close enough under the rocket, it should create an explosion large enough to knock all of these bastards straight on their asses… and probably set the whole room on fire.

Here's hoping my throwing arm's in top form today!

My heart palpitates with each passing second as I try to compose myself. There's probably a ninety percent chance that no matter what I do, I'll either end up as a fresh meal for the walkers, or get completely barbecued by the resulting combustion. But, steeling my nerves and crossing my fingers, I light up the paper towel as time seems to come to a standstill. There are at least two dozen walkers out there all converging on my position, each with a hunger for human flesh and a thirst for my blood. Each one of them would waste no time in killing me, and everyone, friend and foe alike, would be doomed to this miserable existence until another miracle would happen to come along.

Rattling the concoction once again, I let out a grunt and toss the cocktail away from me; watching it soar above their heads as it lands just before the rocket. My heart plummets as I see the bottle smash and the fire burst, thinking that not only did _none _of the biters die, but that it also didn't meet its target.

I'm dead. I'm so fucking screwed this time.

But just as I'm about to cash in my cheque and call it quits, the flame starts to spread closer and closer, with the remains of the bottle practically jumping around in joy as the baking soda and vinegar violently react. It's spreading the mixture closer! Maybe I'm not done for this time around!

I cut my celebratory hopes short though, as I widen my eyes and instinctively dive back into the medical bay; covering my head with my arms just in time as it finally happens. The loudest noise I've ever heard in my entire life erupts as the rocket fuel ignites and consumes the entire room in a thick blanket of fire. The air above me singes as I shriek out in pain from the heat, but I can't even hear my own voice right now. Everything is drowned out as I open my mouth and taste the bitter scent of smoke and ash on my tongue; my eyes stinging and watering as the medical bay is practically flipped upside down. I can only imagine what's going on back out there.

Seeing that the sleeve of my lab coat has actually caught on fire, I firstly try to stop, drop and roll before giving up on that and simply chucking the thing off into the corner. It doesn't take long for the whole material to get completely roasted, but other than a couple of burns that I'll no doubt be nursing for a little while, I think it's safe to say that I'm okay for now.

Flipping onto my back for a moment, I carefully raise my head and start to chuckle a little bit. Despite destroying everything in here, I can see that at least four of the walkers have been killed, and the rest are likely roasting to pieces in the other room. My god, James, you've done it. You've really done it.

* * *

_**Katie's POV **_

For a moment, none of us know what to do. No bullets are flying from our guns, nobody's saying a word… hell, I even hold my breath for a moment of anticipation as I look over to Rachel, who's equally as speechless.

We all heard the earth-shattering boom from downstairs, every single one of us. You'd have to be deaf in both ears not to have heard it. And even if you were, the floor and walls shaking probably would've given it away regardless. The small batch of kids are absolutely terrified, as are most of their parents, and the rest of us really don't know what to do.

"…what the fuck was that?" I break the silence, noticing that most of the walkers outside have been dealt with except for a few stragglers.

Taking it upon herself to take out those that remain, Rachel straps the gun across her back and shakes her head. "The three of them, no doubt," she remarks with a frown, not needing to elaborate further as I clue in to who she means. "But it doesn't matter. I for one am not getting stuck in here while the whole building collapses around us. I'm hauling ass out of here. You in?"

"Right behind you," I tell her instantly, not having to be asked twice as I place my pistol into my back pocket and sling my backpack over my shoulders. It's about time that we hit the road anyways, but not before stopping by James' place first. If I'm going to leave this place behind once and for all, I want some reassurance before I do. Whatever cure or vaccine he's got cooking downstairs, I want a piece of that action.

The rest of the group, particularly some of the younger ones, don't look too happy when they notice us starting to set off.

"Where the hell are you going?!" one of the geezers demand as Rachel and I brush past him. "Hey! I asked you a question! Stop! You can't just leave us behind like this!"

"Why not? You're not my responsibility," I shrug indifferently as I knock a woman's hand away from my arm. Unfortunately, they're not the greatest at taking "no" for an answer.

Indignantly, the group tries to get us to stick around just so that, in their opinion, they can have an actual fighting chance to get to safety. But you know what? The only thing that tells me is that these people are incapable of defending themselves, even though I know for a fact that many of them have already been trained in the use of firearms. Most of them were helping us clear out the walkers just a little while ago.

"What was the point of staying here if all you were going to do was up and leave? What's your plan here?"

"Our _plan _is none of your business," Rachel spits, kicking the fire exit door open and knocking down some of the barricade that Lilly and Jane had created before asking me to help out. "Look, this is real simple, ok? We're going our separate ways here. That's it. Kaput. End of discussion. As far as I'm concerned, you guys are on your own," she mentions as we finally break through the barrier; groaning as she spots these idiots following us along. "Get lost already! We're not your caretakers, and I'm not letting the rest of you drag us down out there! Figure this shit out for yourselves!"

But when none of them even bat an eyelid at Rachel's stinging remarks, obviously not swayed by the fact that she's basically just told each and every one of them to fuck off and leave us alone, I turn around with my pistol hanging loosely down at my side. It's odd… this isn't how I pictured a catastrophe like this to have gone down. I figured that at the first sign of trouble, everyone would be out for themselves, with no goodbyes or anything. I had expected people to be indifferent… that this would be nothing more than another failed attempt to survive out in this shit-hole we call a world. Not in a million years would I have seen this coming, let alone for some of them (mainly the kids, but a few of the adults as well) to have _tears _in their eyes. Jesus, don't they have a stern bone in their body?!

One of the younger boys – I think he must be around nine or ten – then slowly approaches me, all the while staring up at me with his bright, scared little eyes. "Please don't leave us here…" he whimpers, taking some of my fingers within his hand. "We… we don't know what to do. Please help us…"

God damn it Katie, pull it together! For fuck's sake, why are you still holding onto his hand?! How can you possibly be buying into this shit?! Let. Go. _Now_.

I try to do it. I try my best to shake him off, being the stubborn ass that I know I can be at times. I even raise my other arm to strike at the kid after he refuses to let go, but no impact ever comes. My arm shakes in place as a newly-found shiver courses up my spine. I… I can't do it.

What the hell is wrong with me?

"C'mon already," Rachel interrupts, holding the door open with her shoe as she tries to usher me along. But I can tell that even she is looking incredibly guilty and torn about the whole blasted thing. "Let's _go_, Katie. Before… you know…"

"…what if we just took a few of them?" I suggest with a massive sigh, feeling my shoulders sag as my mind becomes clouded with hesitation. "Trust me, this wouldn't be permanent. We'd go our separate ways as soon as it's clear. But what if we just lead them to the countryside, Rach? Might be safer for everyone that way."

"Are you listening to yourself? _Safe_? Travelling in a pack of twenty-odd people is more dangerous than going alone!"

I want her to be right about that. Damn straight I want her to be right. But for some reason, after seeing all of these people's desperate faces, I don't really know _what's right _anymore. I can't stand this fucking knot in my stomach that's forming, especially since the damn pipsqueak over here still hasn't let go of me. His grip may be small, but it's enough to keep me glued to the spot without doing something drastic.

Our situation is growing bleaker each second that we're still standing around here, twiddling our thumbs. It's not that we're in any immediate danger now – whatever that big _kaboom_ was downstairs seems to have kept things pretty quiet regarding the walkers. But people like us? Scavengers and raiders and bandits scouring the city and the surrounding countryside? We've just left them a massive welcome door downstairs, what with the spaceship having fallen over and taken down a huge chunk of the wall with it. Not to mention as well the flames acting as a beacon for every single being, living or dead, to know _exactly _where we are.

So we need to make this quick. If we want to live, we have to be smarter than this. We need to make sure that our defenses are up at all times, and right now, our guard is down for the count.

I finally manage to shake the kid's sweaty hand off of me as I spot the rest of the gang – Kazuki, Marcus, Alden, Scott and Kelly – all heading into the building like firefighters, guns in hand. "We should head down there first… sort this mess out," I suggest pointedly as Racheal, arms folded, says nothing but shoots me a doubtful glance. "We're running low on bullets, and besides," I remind her as I sling one of our automatic rifles over my shoulder with a grimace, "it might do us some good to check in. We can round up some supplies, do a little last-minute shopping before hitting the road."

Apparently taking that statement as some sort of confirmation that we'll be taking them with us, the kids smile broadly for the first time in ages as a couple of the adults help an old man down the stairs. I never really bothered to learn half of their names before, figuring that I wouldn't end up seeing any of them again within the next couple of months anyways. But now, without even agreeing to it, I may have just told them that we're in this together.

Great. Just what I needed today. Another wave of idiots following us along like a dog on a leash.

"Never would've pinned you as the softie."

"Shut up, Rach."

* * *

_**Nobody's POV **_

Chests heaving and breaths heavily pouring out of their dry lips, the survivors had heard the thundering blast from across the field. Marcus hadn't even finished burying the head of the second corpse before dropping the shovel like a ticking time bomb. They had no idea what was going on inside, yet each and every one of them knew and could feel it in their gut that something had just gone terribly wrong.

Alden, being the first to arrive at the scene, stops just short of the collapsed rocket ship as he holds his hair in between his fingers. His pistol drops to the ground beside him as Kazuki jumps a bit, worried that it might go off.

Unable to process this, Alden gawks at the burning rubble as he stands on tiptoe trying to peer into the room; hoping that nobody was killed in the aftermath. "Can't even imagine what could do that sort of damage," he murmurs, getting a consensus from Kaz and Kelly as they both nod their heads. "You don't… you don't think it could've been…?"

"Who else could it be?" Kelly cuts in, still sore after witnessing their group torn apart on two opposing sides. "But god damn, I wish I was wrong… _Sigh_, Scott? Do you see a way in?"

Said boy's cheeks flush crimson after he's caught trying to fan some of the flames away, a pointless task given how much the place is engulfed, but Scott narrows his eyes and shields them with his hand as he tries to see any openings. "Side door's no good – it's melting to shit," he mentions, watching as the top half of the steel doorway turns into nothing more than goo and paste from the intense heat. Telling the rest of his group to hold up for a brief moment, Scott jogs around to the side to try and get a better angle.

Most of the side is in ruins, with various metal beams and bars sticking out in all directions. Every now and again he can see little crackles of flame shooting out from the ceiling as the smoke paints a dark mark upon the tiles. What worries Scott more, however, isn't just the fact that he can't see anybody inside, but also the smell of ash, charred drywall and burnt flesh. Sure, it could just be (hopefully) some of the walkers that had gotten scorched, but what if it's not? What if somebody's trapped inside with no hope of escaping? What if they're squished underneath a fallen support beam, or have already burned to death in a slow, agonizing way? What if –

"Yo, Scott! Did you find anything?!"

Snapping himself out of these dismal thoughts, the boy hollers for the rest of them to come over and try to aid in his search. "Now there's something you don't see every day," Marcus whistles astonishingly, getting a glare from Alden as he shrugs his shoulders. "What?"

Having been abnormally quiet for the past five minutes or so, Kazuki stares at the building; absolutely paralyzed with fear. Traumatizing memories of Josh that she had forced herself to forget are suddenly pouring back in, with images of his shrill, grief-stricken screams hovering about in her mind as she puts a hand over her mouth. Forcing her eyes shut, she violently shakes her head before turning around and trying to keep everything together. _So long ago… yet still too soon, _she shudders, feeling the urge to flee as Kelly softly places a hand upon her shoulder.

"Can you get us in there?" Kelly hollers, knowing fully well that any attempts to try and console the girl would be fruitless. Right now, all they can do is hope that she can work this out within her own head and help them to save some lives.

Like a game of Jenga, Alden assesses some of the pieces to try and figure out which is more likely to fall than the rest. "Wait a minute…" he says, tilting his head to the side as he beckons for Marcus to come help him out. "Scott and Kelly, stay back and watch for walkers," he instructs, holding the left side of a slant of concrete in his hands as Marcus holds up the other. "Ready?"

"On three," Marcus nods, gritting his teeth all the while. "One, two…"

"Three!" finishes Alden as they struggle to lift up the rubble. Having only a limited amount of strength for this sort of thing due to their limited food supply (crops had been drying up this month), the two men find their energy and strength increasingly waning under the load. Thankfully Alden had managed to spot an area that looked cool enough to touch, but he's keeping his fingers closer to the concrete part just to be safe.

Carefully laying the slab down to the side, Marcus sneezes from the dust as the both of them wipe the dirt onto their faded jeans. "Really hoping we didn't just do that for nothing, Ald," Marcus dryly comments, heading over to do the same thing again as he spreads his legs to avoid one of the metal rods protruding out.

"Trust me, we'll be golden when this is out of the way," Alden reassures, slapping the next piece of rubble with his hand as they prepare to move again. "Same deal, here we go…"

Meanwhile, Scott, feeling a tad awkward just standing here with two girls and not saying anything, frowns sympathetically towards Kazuki's way before doing a little circle around the perimeter. There are a ton of dead bodies littering the ground just down the hill, with some of them having fallen in through the hole out in the street where apparently a bridge used to sit. Many of them had likely been put down by Katie and her team up on the second level, but as he goes to check on a few others, he can't help but notice that they are actually free of bullet holes. Despite being mindless killing machines, these walkers make no move to attack him; not having the energy to do so as one of the beasts simply looks over at his direction and gargles at him from the back of its throat. Judging by how scrawny these things are, having almost nothing on them but skin and bones and the ripped clothing hanging loosely on their backs, Scott can only assume that they hadn't eaten in so long that they… well, starved themselves to death, essentially.

"Even the dead need to eat, I guess," he acknowledges, taking out a silver kitchen knife that he had "borrowed" this morning and shoving it into the temple of two of the decaying husks. He's about to go for the third when he sees some kind of shadowy figure marching forward in the distance. By the looks of it, it's a person… a very familiar person, indeed.

All while this is going on, Kazuki has been trying to calm her nerves. She can't help but kicking herself for feeling this way, and scolds herself for not bucking up and showing resolve. But things like this have been building up over time, despite all the advancements she's made and the courage she's shown. Kaz had gone from a scared, little girl caught in between two groups to somewhat of an example for those younger than her, even taking it upon herself to help out with many of the different projects they had at the space center. It was really something she could hang her hat on, something she could stake a claim to.

But now it feels, to her at least, that things are starting to relapse. None of them are quite certain how they might've been involved, but it was definitely no coincidence that this had happened so soon after Clem had gotten locked up. Really, Kaz can't exactly blame her for trying to break out, since she had once tried a similar thing, after all.

She didn't have to blow up half the fucking building to do it, though.

"AGH! SHIT!"

Instantly darting their heads back to the noise, Kelly widens her eyes as she sees Alden's hand caked in blood, running down his wrist and all the way to his forearm. The worst possible scenario crosses their minds, but Alden is quick to dissuade any of those claims as he sees their expressions worry.

"I'm not bit! Just shredded my hand on some glass! Hurts like a bitch, too…" he winces, inhaling sharply as Kelly rushes over. Being the closest thing around to a nurse right now, he hesitantly holds out his hand as she gently grabs onto it and examines him. "So, what's the damage, doc? Am I gonna make it through the night?"

If he wasn't in so much pain right now, Alden would probably smirk at the jealous frown Marcus is developing on his lips.

"Looks like you gashed it pretty deep in there, so it's hard to tell," she jokingly grins. "Who knows? Might have to saw your whole arm off if it comes to that."

Paling considerably, Alden gulps before shaking his head no. "Don't even think of fucking around at a time like this!"

"Regardless," she ignores him, letting the hand go as he cradles it tenderly, "that's gonna get infected if we don't get it stitched up. All the more reason for us to get inside."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's do this thing, already," Marcus insists briskly, sending off a bit of a chilly vibe as Kelly rolls her eyes and goes over to help lift the remaining debris. She makes sure not to make the same mistake that Alden did and avoids the glass, and all of their eyes light up as they finally see it – just the ticket they were looking for.

It's tiny, and it doesn't look inherently safe from outside, but there's a little gap in the wall seems sturdy enough to fit through. There are obviously several problems at play here, least of all being the hanging, still-electrified cables dangling from above, but if there was going to be a sign that they could possibly get in and save their friends, then this has definitely got to be it.

Taking just a brief second to catch his breath, Marcus nudges his head towards the crevice as he lays his hands on his knees. "Open sesame," he chirps, glowering a little bit as he notices the size. "Way too small for us to fit through, though. I mean, you've gotta be some sort of midget or something to try and… oh."

"Are you sure that you're up for this, Kaz?" Kelly questions, clutching both of the girl's shoulders with concern as she steps up to the plate. "I mean, if you're uncomfortable, then maybe we can find another way in. There's bound to be a few other passages along the backside here."

"By then it might be too late," she disagrees with a shaky breath, outwardly seeming as nervous as she is on the inside. As frightened as she might be, though, she still feels that it'd be a stupid, selfish thing of her to do if she didn't at least try. "Nobody else is short enough for a job like this. I… This is something I _have _to do."

Pausing for a moment, inwardly Kelly doesn't think that Kaz is completely stable enough to try and make a daring rescue like this, but ultimately, it's not her choice. The decision falls to the one-eyed teen, who desperately wants to prove to herself and to everyone else that she can still pull her weight; that she can hold her own even in the direst of circumstances.

Needing only the slightest nod from Kelly in order to head on over, Kazuki squeezes onto her hand tightly before walking towards the breach. Marcus, trying to hold some of the concrete on his own so that it doesn't come smashing down onto her head, gives her some last-minute advice. "Make sure to keep your head down, yeah? All that hot air and smoke is gonna rise to the top, so try to keep as low as you can."

"Got it," she tells him, staring him in the eye for a second before he relents and allows her to pass.

Once she's started to crawl inside, blinking back tears as the air stings her eyes from the heat, Marcus, Kelly and Alden all watch her go with heavy hearts. "If you find someone, just tell them to follow you out! We'll be right here!" Kelly hollers after her, unsure of whether Kazuki heard that or not since she's already past the wires.

As the building starts to groan a little bit, with the roof starting to buckle underneath its own weight, the three of them are already silently wishing that she hadn't agreed to this.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Emily suddenly yells out, seemingly coming out of nowhere as she sprints towards them with Scott in tow. She's pissed, evidently, but there's something else in her eyes that none of them can quite pin down yet. Guilt, perhaps? Misjudgement? "I could hear them when I got here! There are walkers inside! Get her the hell out right now!"

* * *

Coughing furiously as beads of sweat start to cascade down her forehead, Kazuki wipes it off with her arm as she tries to make out where exactly she is right now. She's not very close to where the rocket had fallen, but with so much destruction about she can hardly make out her lefts and rights. And despite the place being wrought with flames in several spots, she still finds it hard to see because of all the smoke. The fact that she's only got one eye isn't helping matters, either.

"James?! Bo?! Ellie?!" she calls out, cupping her hands over her mouth as she chants out their names. She's about to end it at that, but guilt compels her to try for the others, too. "Jane?! Lilly?! Clementine?! C'mon, seriously?! ANYONE?!"

The only answer she gets is the low growl of a roamer, partially singed in the blaze as she, trying to remain calm and collected, pulls out her pistol and shoot the beast down. For a split second, the tuft of long, brown hair had made her think that it was Lilly she had just gunned down, but this walker must've turned a long time ago. Its skin is all rotted and its eyes are practically milky white from weeks of being in this state.

She goes to take a few steps forward, just to see if she can get to a better vantage point, when the walkway up above her head becomes unhinged. With a creak that scares her deeply, the entire balcony comes crashing down to the floor, sending more sparkles of fire to rise up for a second and effectively blocking the emergency exit.

Kazuki, only having just dodged the impact by falling flat onto her stomach, is growing more panicked by the minute. Forget gun training! They should've taught her to be more prepared for things like this!

With so much riding on her getting their people out in one piece, Kazuki starts to feel the weight of that pressure building up on her back. Perhaps it wasn't the greatest idea for her to volunteer to just wander inside with no idea what to expect, and no real plan in effect to try and sort this thing out. Besides, the others would've gotten out before something like this would happen, right? They're smart, every one of them, and they'd know what to do if something like this were to happen.

Maybe she could just go back…

….no. No! Damn it, as much as she wouldn't like to admit it, this is exactly the sort of thing she would've done before – back when she was so insecure that all of her problems just seemed to multiply. Even so much as a scratch would've sent her running to the hills, but not anymore! All she has to do is keep on moving forward, and to silence the little voice in her head that keeps on telling her "no".

Even if… that voice is Josh's… and she can't stop hearing without feeling… completely… useless…

_You're a fucking disgrace! You're gonna die alone, and nobody will even know the difference. That's just how much of an impact you really have out here… you're __**nothing**__!_

"He's wrong…" Kaz stands up, repeating her mantra over and over again to drown out his twisted voice. That bastard was nothing more than a bully who had nothing better to do than to pick on people who were smaller than him, but he's not around anymore. Kaz took care of him and put an end to that…

Spitting out some of the saw dust onto the floor as her saliva sizzles like an egg on a stove, Kazuki scans the room for any sign of life. Against all odds, the radio is still intact somewhat, and one of the space suits is still hanging from the hook over by one of the eyewash stations. The "e" for one of the exit signs has been scorched, but Kazuki makes her way towards it regardless. Aside from that and the medical bay, which she doesn't think would be safe to try and get to right now, there aren't any other options anyways.

Pressing onward, Kaz leaps over a fallen ladder and keeps one arm out to shield her somewhat from the elements. It's faint, but up ahead through one of the glass doors, she can see a shadowy fixture up ahead, kneeling in front of something as it shakes its head.

"I can do this," she reassures herself, her confidence slowly beginning to balance itself out again as she spots her target. This is her chance to prove to everyone else, but mostly herself, that she has what it takes to make it out here. She's not useless, and she's certainly not a coward – not anymore. Now, Kaz is a survivor. "Hang in there, I'm coming for ya."

So convinced is she on looking towards her goal that Kazuki doesn't notice the four walkers starting to retract themselves from the fallen rubble over by the rocket ship.

* * *

_**James' POV **_

I don't care that the room is falling apart, and that at any minute I could be crushed by the roof caving in on me. I don't care that I didn't manage to take out every single poor undead asshole with that concoction of mine, and I don't care that through all of this, I know deep down that this is going to be my last day at the Houston Space Centre.

I just don't care anymore. After all, what the hell is the point, when I can't even keep my best friend safe?

I found him laying against the wall here, as dead as they come. Bo. His neck ripped right out of him, an empty gun laying idly on the floor beside him. A bullet hole nests deeply within his head, so I can only assume that he chose to end it himself before the walkers closed in on him for good. In that sense I'm glad that I found him this way – perhaps he didn't suffer as much before his final demise. There are bite marks in other places on him as well, to be sure. I found them on his arm, his stomach and his legs, and the biters had even succeeded on ripping his prosthetic limb off to use it as a chew toy. But it's the bullet that did him in.

Which also means that he didn't turn, thank god. There was no way of him coming back as one of them, which also means that there was literally no way out for him. The guy was cornered, if the evidence that's being suggested is true, with the windows having been barred up except for the spot that the walkers broke through. But does that mean that Lilly and Jane let this happen to him? Did he confront them before he was slaughtered like this? Hmm… I suppose I'll never know now.

Truth be told, I'm not even sure that I _want _to know the full story this time. I doubt that it would make these wounds heal any better, and it certainly wouldn't bring me any peace to know how Lilly and Jane were involved.

Two of the walkers had been munching on Bo's sternum when I had first arrived. Surprisingly though, I hadn't reacted the same way that I did with Diana; with Heather. I hadn't sobbed in the corner, or yelled out profanities like there was no tomorrow. I hadn't even shed a tear until after I bashed the first walker's face in with one of the rods that had fallen off the wall earlier. Weird, right? Well… I guess we had both sort of come to an understanding that it was gonna happen eventually. Each of us are on a timer, so to speak, of how long we have to fight another meager day on this planet.

Heh, Bo and I had even turned that acceptance into a game after a while. _First one to kick the bucket has to buy the other a round of booze, old man! Wherever we end up, let's make sure it's at a bar first._

Naturally, I'd always indulge him with a laugh and reminisce on the days gone by, wondering if I'd ever experience the same, bittersweet taste of Budweiser on my lips again. And then, as if right on cue, Bo would always present the two of us with a beer each. Every time, without fail. I'm almost certain that he was holding out on me and had a whole stash that he'd keep to himself, but I never brought it up. Never seemed right to question his generosity.

Bo had beaten every odd imaginable, what with the cancer, to the limb loss, to the near-death experiences almost on a daily basis… I just didn't expect that his luck would finally run out today. Had I known beforehand, I would've…

Well, come to think of it, I'm not really sure what I'd say. I've never really been good at goodbyes, never really had the chance to do so before. Besides, saying goodbye is so… arbitrary. So basic. Anyone can say goodbye to a person on a normal day, but to do so when you know they're going to die? If you have to make up some phoney line when they're on their deathbed because you haven't been showing them that kindness while they were still living, then that's just wasted words. Bo and I had known we would die. Everyone does eventually, and we accepted that.

So why do I feel so empty?

"J-James?" comes an anxious call from my left, but I'm so zoned out right now with focusing on Bo's face that I don't even pay attention to the sound. As far as I'm concerned, it's just me and him right now, chugging back drinks and swapping stories on the roof. Just like old times.

Without even realizing that I'm doing it, I subconsciously take two fingers and shut Bo's eyelids closed, thinking that that's the least I can do to make sure he's comfortable wherever he's ended up. "Rest in peace, my dear, dear friend…" I solemnly tell him with a tight-lipped, teary grin. "Because you deserve it. I hope we see each other again. Someday."

Clutching his hand tightly, I calmly place my other hand on top of his as I sit back on my knees, not seeing that somebody is still waiting for me impatiently on the other side of the door.

_Knock-knock._

Nothing in the world right now is going to make me leave his side, at least until I can safely get his body out of here. Funeral preparations will have to be made, and I'll have to clear some space for a burial.

_Knock-knock-knock!_

"James? Can you hear me?"

Christ's sakes, can't they just give me a minute? That's all I ask! Even when I'm clearly grieving for one of my friends, these guys always have to have something done for them! Every time!

_Knock-knock-knock-knock!_

"What, _Kaz?! _What do you want?!" I shout unintentionally, breaking away from Bo's body for just a moment to indulge her. "Because if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of in the middle of something here! Now, please enlighten me, what do you w-"

Unable to finish my sentence, I drop Bo's hand shakily as it happens. Kazuki, unaware of the roamers behind her, can only take a short breath before the first jaw rips the right side of her face clean off; sending blood to spurt out all over the glass door that separates us. I can hear every terrified scream as she howls in anguish; her one remaining eye getting clawed out by a pair of ravenous hands as the rest of the walkers bite into her legs and stomach. Desperation takes its toll as I shove all my weight against the glass door, but it's all in vain. Kazuki is barged up against it, her legs convulsing savagely as the walkers rip out her organs and tear her apart piece by piece.

I scratch and claw at the glass until some of my fingers start to bleed, unwilling to let her die like this, but I realize that it's far too late to save her now. With a grim realization, I suspect that Kaz was actually in here in the first place trying to get _me _out. That alone makes it hurt even more – that's two people I've let die today.

Right before I shakily stand up to get out by any means necessary, I make out a static-filled voice calling out on the radio.

"_This is Ri… …imes, of the Alexandria Safe Zone, if anyone in Houston is hearing this, please resp…"_


	37. The queen of thieves

_**Clem's POV **_

Over the past fifteen miles or so, I've been constantly pressing my foot all the way down to the floor of the truck; keeping the windows down as the light drizzle has kept me nice and cool. There's nothing quite like a Texas rain. After all, it rarely happens around these parts, even with how close we are to the Gulf of Mexico. As a child growing up in Georgia, thunder storms were a common occurrence with how humid the place could get, and I remember always rushing back inside with my eyes wide open and teeth chattering, just praying for it to be over soon. Out here, though? I loved those days, and would purposely head outside and sit on a bench or a chair until my hat would get so drenched that I'd be forced back in. Odd though, and also a little depressing, how I can recall what I used to do during a thunderstorm, yet I can scarcely remember Mom and Dad's faces anymore.

The cool breeze and light droplets upon my arm as I hold it out on the side do little to calm my nerves right now, though. My ankle feels like it's going to snap like a twig after keeping it on the gas pedal for so long, and my head is still reeling from all the craziness of the past few hours. We're on the run, nearly all of our former friends are likely still coming after us, Jane and Lilly are nowhere to be found _again_, and as for Ellie…

Looking in the rear-view mirror every two minutes has gotten me all stressed out again. She hasn't moved from that spot since we left, except being forcibly shifted as we've run over a few walkers and potholes. My driving's not exactly on point today. "What the hell kind of drugs did they put you on…" I mutter with trepidation, my right hand gripping the leather steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles turn white.

She's breathing at least, but that's about the extent of it so far. What's more nerve-wracking than usual though is that she's not doing her usual thing when she sleeps – no little quips, no shuffling up against the chair to get more comfort than it can actually offer, and no random, short words being uttered from her mouth whenever she's in some sort of peaceful dream. I had picked up on these sorts of things over the years. Turns out you can get to know a person pretty darn well when you're trying to survive together, a lot more than I would if we had simply occupied the same house. Back when she was young (well, _younger _I suppose), Ellie had insisted on almost a regular basis that she be there to protect the little rascal, but in actuality, for me that went both ways. Not necessarily in the physical sense, but without the fourteen year old girl currently passed out cold in the back seat, I likely would've had a lot more trouble than usual with moving on.

My past is usually something that I've been good at avoiding with Ellie. She's asked me before, naturally, but most of the time I've either changed the subject or given her vague, short-sentenced answers. I know that it drives her up the wall with how I react to these inquiries she'll occasionally have, but not only are some things just too painful to talk about, but just telling her about them wouldn't do any of those people justice. People like Lee, or Kenny, Christa and Omid… hell, even Luke and the cabin crew sometimes, though I usually avoid them when Jane's lingering about. Ellie wouldn't know or experience the same feelings that I did with them – she couldn't. It'd be impossible.

And AJ is a subject that'll follow me to the grave. Only Jane and Lilly have ever known what had befallen the little boy, and I still blame myself for it. How couldn't I though? It was me who had covered him in disease-ridden walker guts; me who had technically snatched away his chance at a life. To tell someone else about it would be to bring up that guilt again, that soul-crushing grief, and so I won't say a word.

I know there's something wrong with my head right now. My brain has been sending me mixed signals ever since we left, but thankfully I haven't seen any of my haunting, long-dead friends for a while now. There's no rationale strong enough for me to consciously believe that they're real, but the fact of the matter is… I see them. They're in front of me. I talk to them, and sometimes they even answer back. If this is all just some kind of illusion, then it's a pretty damn convincing one.

Lee had told me, at least I think he did, that I have to follow my heart and let it guide me. Sure, it might sound like a quote from some cheesy Disney movie, but it still struck a chord. I've been bogged down by so many questions and insecurities lately that I'm not even sure what's right or wrong anymore. So many people have died for me to be in this position right now, and I'm not entirely sure if I even deserve that prestige anymore.

But Ellie does. God damn right she does. And if that means that I have to break all ties, kill every fucker in my way and possibly screw over hundreds if not thousands of people for her to live her own life, then so be it. If it's my future to get killed for this, then I at least want to make sure that she can be in good hands. Alexandria might be my last hope in that regard.

The engine starts to splutter and puff as I sharply turn a corner on the wet pavement, and I frown crossly as I try to smack the radiator a little bit. "C'mon, you hunk of junk," I remark, cursing my misfortune as the gas light pops up on the dash, right next to the engine light and various other ones that I'm not quite familiar with. I'm certainly not an expert on cars or anything, but I'm pretty sure that those are bad signs – definitely not ones that any motorist wants to have. In my rush to leave, I hadn't really paid attention to just how little fuel this thing had in it, blindly assuming that all of our vehicles down in the garage basement would be in tip-top shape. For the entire trip up to this point I'd been keeping the air conditioning off as well as the headlights, but pretty soon this rig isn't gonna run.

"Dammit," I breathe out, realizing with a grimace that although we've managed to break away from the outskirts of the city, we're still nowhere near where we need to be. I guess I had overestimated just how far of a trip this was going to be.

Switching off the ignition as we come to a complete stop, I sit with my head laid back on the headrest for a second. I think we've come far enough that they might not be able to see us just yet, and with the sun going down, they may just put off a scouting party until the following morning. For now, it might be better to just take a minute and breathe. Getting my head on straight might possibly make this transition a hell of a lot easier.

Opening up the glove compartment, I switch on the interior light as I pull open the map of the US; shifting a bit so that my legs stretch out to the passenger seat. On foot, this trek would take us forever, not to mention that blazing a trail into unknown territory isn't exactly within my realm of expertise. And that's also assuming that there aren't any obstacles along the way.

But I haven't chosen Alexandria just on a whim – according to every report I've ever seen, the place is a gold mine among the working settlements around. The southeast is practically overflowing with the dead, and I don't know enough about the western states to make a solid judgement call. This place, for all the talk of how much conflict it's seen, has endured and survived, most likely thanks to those who've been running it. We never made actual contact with their leaders over there, but for news or even rumours of its success to reach us all the way down here, they must be doing _something _right.

We can't back out of this now though, even if I wanted to. If I ever want to see Lilly and Jane alive again, then that's the only place it'll happen. They said they'd meet us at the gates – they _promised _me that that would happen.

Taking a red marker that was just sitting in one of the cup holders up front, I lay the map out flat in my lap and attempt to draw a straight line from Houston to Virginia. The road we take might not be as straight and laid out as I'd like, but that's the fastest route we can take. It's kind of fitting, I suppose, that my old hometown of Atlanta will actually be our halfway point there, if that really means anything now. Well, technically we'll be a bit north of the place, but still.

If this doesn't work out, then we'll just have to find someplace that does. It's all we can hope for now.

After locking the doors and keeping my head out of sight from passersby for somewhat of a quick power nap, my ears perk up to the sound of some uncomfortable groans coming from the back seat. With my hat resting low upon my brow and covering most of my eyes, I grin knowing that I'm not going to be completely alone on this adventure. "You're awake," I acknowledge, trying to prepare myself for the inevitable barrage of questions coming my way – mostly how to avoid answering them.

* * *

Using Ellie's switchblade as the sharp, metal object shimmers in the moonlight, I slash the remaining tire and chuck the keys into a sewer drain down below. Although mostly unusable for us due to how much could go wrong with it, I don't want one of the Fireflies to find the truck and get it up and running again to track us down. Or, perhaps just as importantly, any of the assholes still camped out in some of the various buildings back in the Houston downtown core. I know there are people still holding out there.

"That should do it," I state with a nod, folding the blade back in and handing it back to Ellie. "The darkness should give us just the cover we need for now. C'mon, shouldn't be too far to the state border crossing."

Contrary to what I had previously thought, Ellie's only asked me a couple of questions so far: where we're going, what happened to her, and where Jane and Lilly are right now. I didn't really have a clear response to the last two, but I had shared hope that Alexandria could be a fresh start for the both of us – for _all four _of us, hopefully. Deep down I should be grateful that she's not pondering all of this too much, since it'll likely be a hell of a lot easier getting her to follow me. But I don't want to alienate her from me at the same time… Hmm… Maybe I should take a different approach, a more lighthearted one.

"Up for a little bit of a hike?" I ask with a small smile, faltering as she shrugs her shoulders and starts to walk ahead. "Umm… sure. You lead the way then. I'll let you know when we need to change roads. We'll figure this out together, Ellie. Don't worry."

"Yeah, for sure," she answers quietly, her red bangs blustering in the wind across her freckled face as she places her hands in her pockets.

Fiddling with the straps on my leather jacket for a moment, I keep moving as a companionable silence falls upon us, with nothing to surround us but the sounds of rustling oak and ash trees, the distant moans of walkers a few miles back from where we came, and the crickets as they chirp from the tall grasses of the countryside. I sometimes used to envy those who grew up in places like this, simply because of all the beauty that they'd get to see nearly every night. Long sightlines that let you see for miles in nearly every direction, and wrap-around porches with chair swings that you could rest and relax in until the sun came up.

All of this, every single inch of this place, seems awfully familiar to me. Where have I seen this before?

Whistling to get Ellie's attention, I point a few paces to her left as she nods and takes out her switchblade. A walker, who probably died when he was about thirty-something years old, is grazing absentmindedly on a possum that was unfortunate enough to cross paths with him. The stench is almost unbearable as we both lift our collars up to mask it, but not before I kick the walker in the back and watch as Ellie quickly shanks it through the back of the head. "Thank god they didn't check your pockets, huh?" I inquire as she silently wipes the blood off in the grass before charting off again. "Ellie, c'mon, kiddo. Throw me a bone here. I know this is all a bit sudden, but if we're gonna be travelling together…"

"What do you want me to say?" she questions abruptly, turning around and laying out her arms to her sides in a dramatic fashion.

Cocking an eyebrow, I catch up to her as she kicks some dirt off of her shoe. Was I really as moody as she is at that age? "Well, I'm not trying to control ya, bud," I try to encourage, but fail miserably as she rolls her eyes. "I just want you to be like your old self again. Just because we're on the road doesn't mean we can't talk."

"Then why are we running, huh? Why the hell are we out here in the first place?" she asks me straight up, catching me a little bit off guard. "Because whatever it is, we must've fucked up pretty badly for our own friends to be chasing after us like this! Just… tell me what's going on!"

Swallowing, my body grows a little bit tense as I consider what exactly I should tell her. Giving her the truth of it would probably scare her right now, because from what I'm gathering she seems to have very little recollection of why James was operating on her in the first place. But lying about it? I dunno…

Noting my hesitation, Ellie tries to gain the advantage by folding her arms together and tapping her foot impatiently, but I've dealt with far too many people to be intimidated by a little girl. Let's face it, when Ellie gets angry, it's not quite as intimidating as it is adorable. I'm pretty sure the girl knows every curse word in the English language, and my eight year-old self wants to meekly pipe in with _"swear!"_, but she can't quite pull it off with the fierceness that I've come to expect from others. She's just not a mean-spirited person.

"…I made a mistake," is the answer I end up going with, wanting to get this out of the way now so that it doesn't sprout up again later at an inopportune time. "More than one, actually. I made some choices for the group that… well they…" I pause, trying to come up with the right words to say. Ellie's nothing if not perceptive, but I know her well enough that I can figure out how to get through to her. At least it's worth a shot. "It ended up getting people hurt – "

"Killed?" she pipes in, looking deflated when I hesitantly nod my head.

"Yeah… that too," I admit, playing the girl like a fiddle as I lower my gaze to the side. I don't really want to make eye contact right now. It's bad enough that I'm lying to her, but to look at her straight in the eyes and do it might be even worse. She can't just take my word for it, though. The idea has to seep within her brain.

Nothing passes between us for a little while; no accusations, no glares or hostile tension, which I had partially expected. Ellie doesn't storm off in a huff, or bang her fists on me stomach and call me a murderer.

But after waiting for a few seconds, I gaze back down towards the little girl, and what I see brings a knot to my stomach. She knows about everything – although I had never explained to her what happened that night, I don't think I really need to. She knows that Zayne is dead because of me, because I killed him when nobody else was around. She knows that I've done all kinds of horrible shit to keep us going, and I think she's starting to put the pieces together as to why we're running from our own family.

"Ellie?"

"Stop," she tells me, a look of disappointment flashing in her eyes as she starts to realize just how bad I've become. "Can we just get out of here? Please? It's… I'm tired," she excuses herself as I reluctantly nod. She's right, of course. It's probably a good idea to find somewhere to rest a little for the night anyways. Preferably somewhere outside of Texas, but beggars can't be choosers out on the road.

Giving our little walker pal over here one last look-over, I drag him to the side of the road and leave him in the grass when I find that he's got nothing useful on him. Must've been an older one, but even the walkers don't all deserve to rot on the pavement. It's not their fault that they're like this, after all.

By the time that I'm finished lugging him by the legs, I notice that Ellie's already made her way forwards up the hill without me. I have half a mind to yell for her to stick close, when all of a sudden she stops curiously. "What is it?" I shout up to her, but she doesn't seem to hear my voice as she breaks into a jog and darts out of my site. "Dammit, Ellie!"

Quickly placing my gun back into my pocket, I zip my leather jacket back up and try to follow suit. My legs are already cramping up a little bit as I charge up the hill, and my feet are killing me right now, but I ignore it as I come across a familiar passage. A large dirt path surrounded by trees, many of which have been burned down for some reason, leads the way as I see Ellie's small footprints laying her trail out before me. If there's one thing that I can give that girl some credit for, it's that she certainly knows how to move quickly. More than once she's escaped a lecture from me just in the nick of time by darting to some hiding spot within the camp. I guess we can't really do that anymore now, though.

But the further along I walk, the more my brow scrunches up. I know this place! It seems like almost a lifetime ago, but I could've sworn that we were here at one point. It was such a short period of time now, but as I finally make my way towards the place, my mouth breaks into an astonished grin.

Houston Hills, or what's left of it, stands as a burned ruin in front of us, with some of the old Victorian-style pillars still intact as well as some of the windows, but other than that, the place looks mostly destroyed.

"Think there might be anything we can use in here?" Ellie pipes in, already sticking her hand into some of the wreckage and digging through for whatever she can find. She has no idea what this place meant to me, to Lilly and Jane, too.

"Worth a shot," I answer simply, patting her on the back as I put my pride aside. "C'mon, kiddo. Stick closer to me this time, would ya?"

* * *

My gun hangs lazily at my side as I turn the corner and make my way into the kitchen, or at least what remains of it. There's not really a whole lot of point having it out, since with the noise we're making a walker would've come looking for us by now. But instinct has taught me over time that it never hurts to be prepared, and so I scavenge through the ashes with a finger primed for firing.

This place had seen much better days, there's no two ways about that. For a few months at least we had lived a pretty comfortable life here, all things considered. We had always left at least one person to guard the place while the others would sleep, chill out or go for a run into town. I can remember the little garden we had out in the back, having to plant nothing but potatoes or something like that because we only had one type of crop. I remember playing cards against Lilly and Jane, almost getting my ass kicked by them on a regular basis since they'd never let me win. And there were couches – big, leather-clad and woolen things – right over in the room next to me. The kitchen counter is still here, somehow, but the couches along with most of the walls, windows and chairs are gone. More than likely they burned along with the rest of this place.

"Must've been a hell of a setup back in the day, huh?" Ellie chimes in from behind me, standing on her tippy toes to try and peer into the cupboards. So far she hasn't really found anything except for one of Lilly's old Savage Starlight comics, but she's got some spirit for trying. Lilly wouldn't mind her taking that one, I'm pretty sure. She was more a Batman fan, anyway.

I don't think I'm going to tell her about this place, or the fact that I rested my head upstairs once upon a time. At one point I was pretty fond of this house, it's true, but those moments are long behind me. Right now isn't the time for me to reminisce about the good old days – I had tried that, once. I remember one day when Ellie and I were heading through an old pet store deep within the city, and I had made an offhanded remark about my old hamster that my family used to have back in Atlanta. As I had spun the little hamster wheel around, I found Ellie just kind of sitting by the door quietly, with her hands folded in her lap as she waited patiently for me to finish up.

"_What's up?" _I remember asking her.

Sitting along the windowsill and glancing around at all the various items that used to be for sale, Ellie shrugged her shoulders and explained to me, _"My mom told me that once all of this was over," _she sighed, _"that we'd be able to adopt a dog for ourselves. Head out to Boston and live with my grandparents somewhere. I'm… not so sure that's really an option anymore."_

About two minutes later, I had hurried to the back room, grabbed what we came for and headed back. The whole exchange left a bad taste in my mouth, seeing as how she'd likely never be able to have the childhood that I'd gotten, however brief it was. Guilt didn't even _begin _to describe how I felt that day – Ellie had never been a spoiled kid, and had hardly asked for anything that she didn't really need. Apparently asking for a normal life with a family that cared about her would be too much.

"I think I'll check out back," she tells me as I nod to give her the go-ahead. There's no sliding glass or screen door for her to head to the backyard anymore, much to my dismay. It's weird, but hearing the sound of that door opening used to fill me with a sense of comfort and warmth; that there was a friend around to keep me company when things had gotten too bad.

The old clock, no longer hanging on the wall but now sitting idly on top of the stone fireplace, is somehow still ticking, and with a curious smirk I walk over to see that it reads three thirty-six in the afternoon. Obviously it's completely wrong, as the moon is still hanging ominously in the sky, but if something as insignificant as this had somehow managed to survive, then I hold out for a sliver of hope that some of the other belongings are still here as well. The only question now is where to find them.

After I poke my head out to check on Ellie, who's currently trying to get the cellar door open to below ground level, I frown and bite my lip as I try to loot my way through the remains of the house. This was a lot easier when there were two floors, but at least with the upper half either collapsed or burned away, it's all in one location.

I never really knew what became of the place after we were rudely forced to leave. Jane and Lilly had mentioned a few names of the people who took them, but I had forgotten them a long time ago. Didn't really matter too much, I guess, but now at least I know what they must've done to the house. I guess it really was a close call with me in that cellar, after all. If I had stayed just a few minutes later, I probably would've been barbecued.

Almost everything's grey and black, charred to bits from nearly a decade ago as I keep my wits about me. I wonder how many others had come through here after we left, or if we're the first ones to disturb the ashes since that fateful day. There's no real way to tell, since the wind had probably blown away any traces of other scavengers. There are a few empty bullet shells here and there, but those are probably leftovers from when we had that standoff with the group that kidnapped Lilly and Jane.

Just as I'm about to head down the barren hallway towards the front of the house for the first time in forever, I stop as my foot stumbles upon something I had forgotten about. A ramp – mostly torched to shreds, but still held in place. Lilly had installed them for…

Frowning deeply, I cut off my thoughts as I turn my gaze to the left, and there it is, clear as day. The wheelchair that I'd sat in for months on end, making me hate myself every day for being so stupid and letting myself break both of my god damn legs. I spent a lot of nights silently crying myself to sleep, lying in bed while Jane and Lilly would sit by my side into the small hours of the morning. I know they hated seeing me like that just as much as I did, and I could tell that they trying so hard to be strong for me. After all, who knew if I'd ever walk again?

I don't remember if I had ever properly thanked them for all of that. They went out of their way to help me through that difficult time without anything in it for themselves. I remember even telling Lilly one time to leave me and take off, just as she had tried to do before that. She had knelt down in front of me, placed both of her hands on my shoulders, and gave me a rough shake. She told me to snap out of it, and that she wasn't going to ever give up on me because of what I did for her. I didn't understand what she meant at the time, since generally she was the one who was constantly saving my ass.

"_No, Clementine," _she had said more softly, then, _"you saved me from _myself_."_

Clutching the back handle of the wheelchair, I slowly rock it back and forth as I watch the wheels spin. The steel has mostly rusted away after being exposed to the elements for so long, and the axels squeak as I push it, but other than that and a singed seat, it's still in relatively working order. Good lord, that's infuriating. How is it that out of everything we had here, everything we shared together, this stupid fucking piece of plastic garbage is one of the only things to have survived?! Why?! Why couldn't it have been something I could look back fondly on?!

Taking both hands to the back of the wheelchair, I angrily shove the thing over, turn it on its side and slam it to the ground; only getting more pissed when it hardly even puts a dent in it.

"_What's the matter? Afraid of your past?" _the stranger torments me in my mind, causing me to collapse to one knee as I shudder and breathe heavily. He's standing over in the corner and towering over me with an empty look in his eyes, I know he is. The same asshole that lead me astray, that took me away from Lee. _"It's alright, sweetie. We can go somewhere nice and safe. You do want that, don't you? All you have to do is just take my hand…"_

"Clem?"

Instantly his phantom image is gone, and I blink a few times to see that there's nothing in the corner except for the shattered mirror I used to use. I couldn't have imagined that… or was I simply looking at my own reflection? Is that what spooked me?

"Hey, are you gonna be okay?" she asks me sweetly, and I can't help but smile and close my eyes in reassurance. How Jane used to go it alone back in the day is beyond me. I'd probably have gone off the rails by now. "I thought I heard a noise back here. I didn't think those fucking things got in here, but you never know."

Shaking my head, I stand up again and try to brush off the ash from my knees. All that ends up doing is smudging it a little and getting tiny pockets of soot to cover my fingers. "Wasn't that. Just knocked something over."

I can't really tell if she buys that answer or not, given how dark it still is, but she doesn't press the issue as she walks closer towards me. "Well, the place is a dud, mostly. That door out back has the lock fused together so there's no getting into it," she mentions, gesturing backwards with her thumb. Good thing, too. I don't want her to see what's down there. "But hey, we're pretty far from the city. Do you think we might be able to stay here tonight? Just for a few hours?"

Mulling it over for a bit, I shake my head as I take off my hat to itch at my scalp. "I don't think so, bud. Too many ways for us to get spotted, and too many entrances for bad folks to get through. Besides, I doubt you'll want to wake up with cinders in your hair," I joke, thinking that her hair is already auburn and red enough to catch fire at any second. "Look, I know you're exhausted. I am too. But I promise, the next building we see that looks like it's safe, that's where we'll sleep. Sound fair?"

"I guess."

Seeing that that's the only straight answer I'm going to get, I tell her to take point and that I'll be out in just a minute. I wait for her to leave, and then once she's disappeared from sight, I lower my gaze to the ground and shake my head. This CANNOT keep happening. I can't keep losing my shit like this, seeing things that aren't there and talking to people who no longer exist. Ellie must think that I'm losing my damn mind the longer I'm out here, and at this point that might not be so far from the truth. It's almost as if somebody had screwed in a voice recording machine into my head when I wasn't looking.

What's worrisome now though is that these voices and visions… they're actually starting to hurt. As in, _physically_. I'm getting these huge headaches that just don't ever seem to be going away, and I'm not sure if the lack of food, water and rest is just adding all of these problems up on top of each other or not but… shit. What am I going to do if one of these days I just completely blow up and put her in danger? If I start shooting or striking out, I'm not really sure what she'd do.

If it ever comes to that though… a part of me wants her to just put me down. Maybe it'll be easier that way, for the both of us. She could go wander off and do her own thing, and the Fireflies would have one less person to worry about.

Until then, I'm going to try and do right by her; by my friends. If I care about any of them at all – Ellie, Jane or Lilly – then I owe it to them to try and keep myself in check. There's just too much at stake now for me to let this schizophrenia get the better of me.

I don't even realize that I've been crying a little until I wipe my face with my hands, getting rid of the tears as I swipe them off with the back of my sleeve. Nothing to do now but move forward, I guess. I just hope that Ellie didn't see me like this.

Before I head back out to meet her, however, I stop short when I notice that under one of the few chairs that remain sits a dusty, old box – sealed air-tight by some masking tape. Curiosity gets the better of me as I bend down and grab onto the box, kicking the wheelchair farther away as I set it in front of me. I sit cross-legged as I try to pry open the box with my bare fingers, but this thing's probably been shut away for so long that it won't budge. Not wanting to break the contents inside, I look around for something sharp to use, and settle on a shard of the broken mirror as I tear through the tape with ease. The glass cuts me a little bit as I wince, but barely any blood's been drawn as I turn my attention back to the box.

Chuckling in disbelief, I lay some of the contents on my lap as I start to go through them one by one. A nail file from Jane, the hair clips that Lilly had given me from before she stole the RV, a scrap of paper with tallies from who won the most card games… this is the memento box that I had insisted on keeping locked away. Lilly wasn't exactly on board with the idea, thinking that we could use most of the stuff we were placing inside, but my stubbornness had actually outweighed hers that day, and she had relented; even throwing in some of her dad's old coins that she kept after he passed away.

There's a bunch of other stuff in here, too, but it's mostly just miscellaneous items: sketches that I had likely drawn purely out of boredom, the spray can of silly string that I had sprayed both Jane and Lilly with (although that alone makes me laugh from the fond memory), a whole pack of crayons, and some kind of pun book that we must've found lying about at one point. Thinking that Ellie might get a kick out of it, I take that along with the nail file and put both of the items in my coat pocket. The rest, although special to me, will have to stay in the box. We can't be too dragged down by things that we don't absolutely need. And who knows? Maybe someday another person will come and get more of a use out of these items than I would. Not very likely, but you never know.

"Clem? You coming?"

"Yeah, just a sec!" I yell back in reply, getting ready to put the lid back on the box and place it back where I found it the first time. Just as I'm about to do so though, I stop myself and dig to the very bottom of our makeshift time capsule.

It's a picture – Jane, Lilly and I, with me putting on a shit-eating grin while Jane seems to be laughing about something. Most likely, if the expression on her face can tell me anything, Jane and I had played yet another practical joke on Lilly, and were trying not to burst into a crazy fit of laughter. For some reason though, Lilly's the one holding the camera in front of us, but I don't really question it. This is amazing… I can't believe we would've left something like this behind. I mean, there was a camera floating around the space centre, which the kids were having a blast with, but I think this might just be a keeper. Back to a simpler time when all we had was each other.

Brushing my thumb tenderly along Jane and Lilly's faces, I try not to ruin the picture as I carefully fold it in half and place it inside of my interior coat pocket; right next to my heart.

Feeling satisfied with my haul, I nod and take one last look at what used to be Houston Hills. You know what? For all the bad shit that happened to us that split us apart afterwards, I'm still glad that Ellie and I came back here. This trip has already been worth it. I just hope that the rest of it will bear the same luck.

* * *

Ellie's leaning over the railing when I come out to find her again, nose-deep into her newest Savage Starlight book. Her eyes are glued to every page as she flips to the next one, but she can still hear my footsteps coming down the wooden stairs. "What were you doing in there? Digging to China?" she inquires, stopping for a second as I hand her the book I found. "No Pun Intended: Volume Too," she reads with amusement, flipping to the first page as I hear her snort. "Okay, I think you've just dug yourself an early grave here, Clem. I'm gonna be belting these out every time I get a chance!"

"As long as it keeps you from swearing at me," I poke her lightly on the nose, "I think I'll take that as a win."

"Pfft! Yeah, okay then! I don't fucking swear!"

Laughing at that despite myself, I do a few back rotations in order to stretch out a little bit before telling her to follow me. We've only got a little bit of darkness left I'd imagine, seeing's how a little bit of light is popping up on the horizon, and I'd rather not be caught out in the open when we haven't even left the state yet.

We make pretty good headway from that point, walking for probably a solid two hours without having to stop for anything. We're taking the backroads instead of the main highway, since I'm not entirely convinced that that's not congested with broken-down vehicles. A few walkers managed to give us a little bit of trouble a few roads back, with one of them putting up a hell of a fight, but fortunately we were able to save our bullets by leading them over to a small ravine underneath a wooden bridge that leads to the next row of rural neighbourhoods. In fact, we didn't even need to use any weapons at all – we simply taunted them to come over towards the bridge, dodged their bites at the last second, and then shoved them the rest of the way over. Ellie had cringed as we heard their necks snap once they hit the bottom, but I just wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kept us on the path.

However, the Texas heat is notorious for making you feel like you're living in a furnace, and even two days into our escape, we're already starting to feel the effects of our lack of resources. Ellie's been trying to cover it up, but every now and again I can hear her stomach growling and see the beads of sweat perspiring on her forehead. The roof of my mouth is almost completely dry, and I've been feeling pretty dizzy over the last stretch of mile. I'm kinda wishing now that I hadn't sent that walker straight into the ravine… might've been safe for us to drink out of.

Ellie's about to roll both of her sleeves up to try and suppress the heat, but hesitates once she remembers what's forever planted onto her left forearm. She traces her fingers along the scars, and although they'd healed long ago, I still see her doing this sort of thing from time to time; rubbing at it and looking grimly in the distance.

Once I see her nearly trip over an exposed crack in the road, I decide that enough is enough. Rubbing my eyes for a second, I take off my dad's old baseball cap and place it on top of Ellie's head. Surprised, she immediately turns around to look at me. "Can't remember the last time I've seen you without this puppy on."

"You and me both," I admit, feeling a little bit empty without it sitting atop my crown. I've never gone anywhere without it, and as strange as it sounds, I actually think that I've felt more like a leader while wearing it. Maybe the hat's got super powers or something, I don't know. "It's better than you getting heat stroke, though. We both need to keep our strength up if we're gonna make it."

"Do you know how far we've gone? Shit, it feels like we've been walking for days…"

I'm just about to pull out the map and answer her, when all of a sudden I spot a trio of shadowy figures up ahead in the distance. Unless it's a mirage, which is entirely possible due to the heat waves bouncing off the pavement, I can see a man, a woman and a horse walking across a farmer's field. And if they have enough food and water to keep a horse going, then that means…

"Look, up ahead!" I point out, with Ellie scrunching her eyes to try and see what I'm talking about. Once she spots them, too, her eyes light up with excitement.

"Holy shit," she exclaims, jogging up to a road sign reading twenty-five miles per hour. "You don't think they might be Fireflies though, do you?"

"Way out in the middle of nowhere like this? I doubt it. We're miles out from Houston," I tell her, all sorts of ideas running through my mind as I pull out my pistol. "C'mon," I tell her, failing to notice the look of worry crossing the girl's face, "let's follow 'em, and see where they're holed up. With a little luck, we might be able to – "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back the hell up for a second," she interrupts, clearly not on board with… whatever it is she thinks I'm doing. "Clementine, what the fuck's wrong with you?! You just happen to randomly see a group of strangers out on the road, and now you're gonna go _kill them _for their fucking supplies?! You can't just slaughter them like that!"

"Hey now, nobody said anything about murdering these people!"

"Oh yeah, because the way you're holding that loaded gun doesn't totally say, _I'm a bandit whose come to shoot everyone on sight!_"

"You seriously think I'd…?" I cut myself off, reluctantly placing my gun in my pocket for the time being. Maybe now I can try and get her to understand. "Listen, that's not what's going down here, okay? I wouldn't do something like that without a damn good reason," I explain, practically pleading with the kid to see things from my perspective. "But unless they want to trade us a few cans of food for a pun book, we don't have anything to offer them. We _need _this food and water, Ellie – we're gonna die out here without it. That's why we have to take it with us."

"And when they all die because of what we stole from them?" she challenges with a disapproving glare, the crescent moon shape of her eyebrow creasing ever onward. "What makes you think they're just gonna let us take their stuff, anyways? You're the one who _told me _doing this was wrong in the first place!"

"This is different."

"How the hell is it – "

"Because this is how the world works out here, Ellie!" I cut her off, getting slightly anxious that we'll lose these people if we're not quick enough. I know her heart's in the right place, but she's never really known life outside of the city. She's been living under the roof of a community settlement for years now, and hasn't had to resort to these kinds of things just to get by. I was feeling the same way, in fact. As ridiculous as it might sound, living at that space station… it kept our guards down, made us vulnerable. We may have had walls to keep us going, but those bandits were able to get inside because they were veterans at this – they were hardened survivors, and knew that in order to get what they wanted, they had to do whatever they had to.

Ellie, still looking as though she completely disagrees with what I'm proposing, averts my gaze and shakes her head.

"We're not going to take it all," I tell her, tilting her chin up with my spare hand as I try to regain her trust. So far, I don't think it's working. "All we need is enough to get by for a little while. That's it. We'll be nice and quick – nobody has to see us, and nobody has to die. Sound fair?"

Deep down, I really can't believe that I'm advocating this, to a _child _no less. It feels so wrong, and I know that she's got a point – stealing too much from these people might be the same as shooting their shins and leaving them to the walkers. But to do nothing, to just leave them alone and continue on our merry way, would be too big of a risk. Who knows where or when our next meal will be, if we even _get _one, that is. If there's a chance for me to put some food into her stomach, then I'm game.

My stomach drops a little bit though, when Ellie suddenly violently shakes her head. "You do what you want," she insists, "but count me out. I'm not having any part of it. We're not fucking thieves."

Sighing in defeat, I stand back to full height and scan the horizon for where they may have gone… Good, looks like they're still in sight. If we… er, _I_… can follow along without being spotted, then all the better.

"I'll make it quick, then. You've got a gun?" I ask her, concerned when she shakes her head. Making a last-minute decision, I turn around and tell her to trade me for her switchblade. "I'll take good care of it, I promise. But if anyone comes near you, take that pistol and fire. Run if you have to, but just make sure you put as much distance between you and your target as possible."

"If you're going on a killing spree, won't you need a gun?" she sarcastically asks me as I roll my eyes.

"I learned from the best," I ominously reply, flashing back to my time spent watching Jane on runs and in the training yard. "This'll go a lot smoother if I'm quiet. But come on, we need to catch up to them. No need to get into something bigger than necessary."

_Click!_

"That's too bad, then. Looks like you just walked into it," taunts a voice from behind us, causing me to stiffen up and curse our dumb luck as I feel the cold metal of an assault rifle against my neck. The hairs on my arms stick up as he practically growls his demands at us. "Weapons on the ground, now. Don't try me, girls. This don't need to get bloody."

I hadn't yet gotten a chance to trade my gun over to Ellie, put I carefully shift my gaze over to her and wink. _Wait for my signal, kiddo, _I silently tell her. Doing as the guy commands, I drop my pistol to the ground and leave my hands above my head.

"That's better," he murmurs, and I can hear the cocky smirk within his words. "And what about you, huh? Turn out them pockets – ain't no way you ain't packin' heat, too."

"I'm the only one with a gun. I'm just trying to protect her, so how about you walk away and let us go?"

"Protector, huh? Doing a mighty fine job of that now, ain't ya? And do you really think I'd just let you ladies leave without a hitch? _Tsk-tsk-tsk_, I'm afraid that's not how it works," he chuckles humourlessly, turning back to Ellie without skipping a beat. I can tell this guy's done something similar before. "Last chance, girlie. Empty them pockets, or else your friend here's getting a noggin full o' lead."

Ellie, still wearing my hat, shifts her eyes over to me for the go-ahead, and I nod at her… but not before winking at the same time. This guy may think that he's in control, but we've got him wrapped like putty in our hands. Thank god he can't see my face from back there, though.

"Well? Quit dallying, now! Out with the weapons!"

Seeming to get my message, Ellie turns back to our assailant and reaches further down into her pocket. "_Slowly_," he warns, aiming his gun over at her for a moment as she complies. If that gun of his was aimed somewhere else right now, I'd be tempted to try something, but this might still be able to work in our favour.

When Ellie reveals what's been sitting in her pocket the whole time, I nearly snicker at what she's holding. A set of keys for her room back at the space centre, with a mini toy screwdriver attached to it just for show.

Clearly, this man isn't impressed. "You think this is a fucking joke or somethin'? What're you playing at?!" he snarls, shoving his gun at the back of my head and pushing me forward a little. "Answer me, dammit! Where's yer fucking gun?!"

"I told you already, I'm the one protecting her!"

"Well, we'll just have to test that out then," he snaps, grabbing onto Ellie's collar and forcing her to walk beside me. Pointing his gun to the east, the bandit spits on the ground by my left foot and swears at me under his breath. "That your camp over there?" he questions with a thick, southern drawl. I had almost started developing one last year, but Jane had laughed at my change in voice one day so hard that the water she was drinking from nearly came out of her nose, so I've been trying my best to stop it ever since.

Gulping, I see that Ellie's about to answer when I beat her to the punch.

"Yeah, that's us. We don't want you to hurt anybody though."

Ellie, raising an eyebrow at me, thankfully remains quiet as I continue on with our little charade. It seems that he didn't really pick up very much on our earlier conversation before threatening our lives. _Ellie's _life…

_You know what has to be done, _Carver glowers at me, his gruff voice drowning out anyone else's. _Lead him on like a fucking dog, Clementine. That'll be your moment to strike – don't squander it._

"I won't," I bark back. What the hell does he know, anyways?! I'm the one trying to get us out of this mess! Carver's got no business being here! He's not my friend!

Our attacker swiftly smacks me on the side of the head with his gun, causing Ellie to jump in surprise, but I try to shake it off as I feel a trail of blood slowly trickling down my right cheek. "Like hell you won't," he grunts angrily. "Now, here's the thing. Me and my friends here are gonna stand right behind the both of y'all," he explains as I grit my teeth in annoyance. Almost all at once, in comes four or five more people from the brush, all armed with pistols and hunting rifles. It's hard to tell from here, but they still look like a ragtag bunch of morons who're probably too stupid to organize an assault like this. "And we're gonna walk you right inside, nice and easy. No mess, no fuss. Next, you're gonna tell your hillbilly leader that we want what was stolen from us. Ammo, food and meds. All of it, or we're coming in and killing every last fucker in there. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes sir," I woozily reply, a small smirk eluding the unsuspecting assholes as Ellie looks over towards me with concern. She doesn't have to worry, though. I've already got all of this sorted out in my head.

Sure thing, buddy. I'll play along. We'll walk right into "our" camp and lead your gang inside. Nice and easy, like you said.

Only this time, we're gonna get away with so much more.


End file.
